Kamen Rider Symphony
by VoyeurTheNinja
Summary: Years after the people of Earth had waged a devastating, year-long war against an alien race, what remains of Earth's past protectors attempt to strive in a combined society of two races and continue their act of vigilante justice. As memories of the war remain fresh in many minds, the now mythical Kamen Riders continue their fight against evil, unremembered by all but a few.
1. Shall the Concert Begin?

It had always been said that good triumphed over evil in the end, that man would always defeat whatever enemies that appeared to challenge him, and that the lines between two sides were clear cut. Stories often told that a hero would rise to challenge whatever overwhelming evil that would appear to take man's world, and that the hero would always break through all adversity while bringing justice to the evil and corrupt. The masked heroes of hope that rode into battle on their steel steeds, living legends and personifications of rightful justice.

But in the end, that was all no more than fiction.

In the early 21st century, an alien race dubbed by the humans as the "Serpentium" had arrived on Earth, a nomadic reptilian race that scoured space for a new home after the destruction of their own world. After a first encounter that ended in bloodshed, a war had sparked between the two races over control of the planet, a year-long war that would cause entire cities to be turned to ash, millions of innocent lives on both sides lost, and conflicts that butchered both races in numerous attempts to wipe each other out. In the end, a treaty had been signed between the two races to prevent further bloodshed, and both sides sought to rebuild and integrate both societies on Earth, no matter how difficult it may be.

Conflicts between the humans and Serpentium had now reduced to insurgent groups, some lead by those could not live past the atrocities performed by both sides. But among those that had fought in the war, those sought to keep the peace between both races were the rumored 'Kamen Riders', legendary masked heroes that were seen as little more than propaganda than actual warriors. But despite being known as heroes of justice, the Riders were an enigma as not even the highest members of the either military knew where they had come from in the first place. They would arrive onto the battlefield, alone, and end long battles as soon as they came. At the end of the war, they had disappeared without a trace, reduced to little more than a legend.

They had seeped into the bowels of history, forgotten by the very people they fought for.

* * *

It was now 18th October of the year 2021, and in the city of Streilson, heavy rain poured onto the bustling streets, the flashy neon lights on every building piercing the night as in the dim outskirts of the city, sat a small bar among the tall, towering skyscrapers. A few cars and a motorcycle parked outside of it, one would hear the calming rhythms of a violin leak out of the bar if not for the immense rainfall drowning out everything else. A simple sign hung above the bar, dimly lit and well-worn as it read "Haven".

With the rain only increasing in intensity and volume, a passing-by pedestrian in a thick coat shielded himself from the rain with an umbrella as he entered the warm den of the bar. A bell placed above the door rang as it opened, signalling the workers inside of their newest patron. The bar itself felt like a warm sanctuary from the outside world, dim yellow lights illuminating the area with the scent of perfume filling the air.

The bar owner sitting at the counter, Getrud, was a Serpentium with a lit cigar between her clawed fingers. As a race capable of altering parts of their body, an inattentive person could've easily mistook her for a simple redheaded woman, had they not noticed the scales covering her forearms, cheeks, and a long, thick tail sticking out the back of her dress. The cigarette she held was extinguished in an ash tray under her arm when Getrud's slit pupils noticed the costumer and the woman greeted him in a low, but welcoming voice.

"The usual as always?" she said as her hands pulled up out shot glass from under the counter, the tip of her tail picking up a bottle from the shelf behind her with ease.

As the man in the coat sat down with his umbrella put aside, the only musician on duty at the time was a single violinist in the corner.

His fingers were delicate, yet decisive, as they made their work on the instrument's strings, in contrast with the hand wielding the bow that was more quick and focused, like a knife repeatedly slashing through the air. The violinist maintaining a small smile on his face, he held the instrument in his hand like a golfer's grip, firm, but relaxed, steady and easy. Almost as if one was holding a fragile animal. With each movement of his hand, came a sound almost too pleasant to be even possible. For a lengthy period of time, the violinist had been playing despite bar having been entirely empty until the man in the coat had arrived.

Pouring their newest customer some bourbon whiskey, the bar owner placed the bottle down on the counter and sat back in her chair when she noticed the violinist finally finishing the song he was playing, "Akira, your shift's done already. The bar's closing soon, so you can go home if you want to," she told the young man who wrung his red fingers and wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.

"Of course, Miss. Have a pleasant night," the violinist casually replied with a smile and a nod before putting his violin under his shoulder. Running a hand through his neatly-combed hair, jewelry shaped like a musical note hung on one of his ears, the young man heading over to the back of the bar as another musician with a saxophone took over his shift.

Soon, the mellow, sultry sound of a saxophone replaced the whimsical strings of the violin and the bar owner looked at the heavy rain outside before glancing back at the customer in front of her. Getrud leaned forward on the counter, her voice lowered into a whisper, "What's the word on the street?"

"They're still looking for them. Saw a few gang members pass by here. Not sure what they're up to," the man answered in a deep voice, not taking off the hat he wore nor his thick coat. His umbrella placed down next to him, rainwater dripped from it with each passing second, "Things have been getting rough in the city, too. Fafnir and his gang have been practically running the city lately," he scoffed and then drank the shot of whiskey in his hand, grabbing the bottle next to it for a refill, "I don't get it. They should know better than to actively hunt _them_ down of all things."

"Dumb-asses will be dumb-asses," the scaly woman said with a light shrug, her tail flickering back and forth in the air before her eyes turned to him, "They haven't got any leads, have they?"

"Maybe," the man shrugged, chugging down another shot of his drink before taking out his wallet and leaving some cash on the counter, "They've been acting up lately, since someone's been trying to take out the gangs. Not sure if it's the cops or some moron with a vigilante complex, but keep your guard up just in case, Getrud; the gangs will do anything to look for them," and with that, the man in the coat got up and left, the jingling bell above the door heralding his departure.

Getrud, with a wide frown on her face, leaned back in her chair and let out a loud sigh before as her tail fished out a cigarette from her pockets.

* * *

In the back of the bar, Akira rubbed his sweaty fingers with his handkerchief before placing his violin back in its casing and locking it tight. Storing it in his locker for the meantime, the young man took off the fancy vest he wore and unbuttoned his suit's collar for some air as he closed his locker. His ears then picked up the sound of the television in the other room suddenly switching on, and out of curiosity, Akira took his water bottle from the table behind him and went out of the belongings room. He walked past a few more lockers and bags before stepping right into the break room.

There, an old television sat in front of a small table as one of the other workers sat down, eating some creamy donuts in hand when she looked backed at the violinist with a mouth covered in cream.

"Evening, Maribelle," Akira politely greeted her with a small wave of his hand, "I didn't think you'd be here tonight."

"Oh, you're the new guy, right? Ashita - no - Akira! Yeah, Akira," Maribelle snapped her fingers in triumph once she remembered his name and then wiped her mouth with a tissue. The blonde gestured the younger man to sit down with her as she picked up another donut from a box on the table, "Come on, Getrud bought some of these donuts for us. You should have some!"

Unable to turn down her kind offer, Akira sat down on another side of the table in the small, but cozy break room and took a few creamy bites of donuts as he gazed at the TV. There, the evening news had started playing and the human and Serpentium news anchors were reading out reports on the terror attacks that had been aimed at both races in several cities: A bus bombing had killed 5 and injured 7 in the town of Futo, 3 more injured in the city of Zawame from attempted vehicular homicide, 6 killed during a shooting at Yumemi, and with each report, it grew more and more depressing to watch until Maribelle took the remote and switched the channel to something else just to avoid it.

Putting down the remote, Maribelle sighed and rested her chin on one hand, "Geez, things have been getting worse, huh? Even though the fighting's stopped, some people are still going at it," she looked at Akira, who had been staying silent the entire time with an expression that looked unfazed by what was shown on the news. The young man giving no reply to her words, Maribelle decided to bring up some small talk, "What do you think, Akira, about all this? You think things could someday settle down?"

Akira placed his elbows on the table as he tented his fingers, a small smile present on his face, "Maybe," he said, sounding not too hopeful, "After all, Getrud has been quite kind to me ever since she hired me. It wasn't easy finding a job, or even an apartment in this city, so I appreciate what she's done to help me in both regards," taking out his handkerchief and wiping his fingers and mouth clean, he placed it back in his pockets and continued staring at the game show playing on the TV, "Still, things like this never get resolved so easily. Not without time, or effort."

His tone sounded almost bitter to Maribelle as she hesitantly nodded along to his words, "Yeah. I guess so. But I guess it's the little things like people becoming friends and simple bonding are what brings the biggest changes, right?"

The violinist gave a grin and a small chuckle, "I suppose so," his hand reaching into his pockets, he took out his cellphone to check the time. It was past 9 already, and very much the time to head home.

"You heading back already?" the girl asked him, almost disappointed.

"Well, I should if I want to make sure I get enough sleep. A musician should take care himself well, after all," Akira laughed, running his hand past his ear as his musical note-shaped earring jingled, "I'll see you tomorrow, Maribelle. Have a pleasant night," without another word, the young man then stood up from his chair and headed out of the break room. Back in the locker area, Akira pulled out his violin casing and hung it over his shoulder before closing the locker and securing it with a key.

For a moment, the boy simply stared at his reflection on the locker's metal surface, a small sigh escaping his lips before he shook his head and headed out the back door. The sound of heavy rain instantly filling his ears, Akira grumbled to himself as he had no umbrella to use and his bike was a bit far from where the bar was. Then, as soon as he stepped outside the door and closed it behind him, he could hear several cars loudly screeching to a halt and voices all shouting at each other all of a sudden. All this, he could hear from the front of the bar.

The smile that Akira had been wearing this entire time suddenly disappeared, now replaced by a deep scowl as the violet ring on his ear began to glow.

* * *

Extinguishing her cigarette in an ash tray, Getrud clicked her forked tongue as she saw several cars park right outside the bar, their headlights shining through the bar's windows as several silhouettes could be seen exiting out of the vehicles. She calmly gestured to the musician in the corner to head out through the back of the bar and the young man diligently followed her orders. But as soon as he exited out the back, Maribelle came back in, utterly confused about the sudden noise outside.

"W-What's going on?" the blonde girl asked the bartender who shot her a panicked glare.

"Dammit, Mary, hide! It's-"

The double doors to the bar blew off their hinges and toppled to the floor with a thundering boom as 6 scaly, tall men in suits stood at the entrance with guns in their hands. The rumbling of the thunder outside echoing through the bar, Getrud and Maribelle stood frozen behind the counter as the men in suits strode into the premises. Their imposing figures dwarfed the average man, scales adorned their human-esque forms, and their eyes with slit pupils hid behind dark sunglasses. The one at the front, wearing a gaudy necklace around his neck, had a large scar running down the side of his face with one of his eyes covered in an eye-patch as he hovered his glare over the empty bar.

"Getrud Werner, am I right?" the one-eyed man casually began as his men stood behind him and stared down on the two women at the counter, "Sorry about the door, but I'd like to ask you girls a few questions."

With Maribelle trembling behind her, Getrud pursed her lips as she slowly sat back down on her chair, "What do you want? The bar's closing soon, so it's pretty fucking inconvenient for you guys to start barging in all of a sudden, you know?"

The man gave a hearty laugh, scratching a scale around his neck as he gave an uncanny smile at the bartender's attitude, "Oh, where are my manners? The name's Fafnir. I run the gangs around these parts, and lately, I've been hearing rumors about a 'man in a mask' taking out my boys. Not only that, but I heard that it just so happened to be at the same time you got a new worker," he glanced at the empty tables of the bar and grinned, "You two wouldn't happen to know anything about this masked man, have you? After all, who would work in a dump like this?"

"How should I know?" Getrud spat back at him, "All my workers here are just kids that have nowhere to go. I don't know anything about this 'masked man' either, so you're shit out of luck on that part," as she spoke, her hand slowly reached for the shotgun stowed away under the counter, until she felt Maribelle's hand grab her wrist. The blonde shook her head, insisting that they not take on several armed men.

"Alright then, fair enough," Fafnir sighed and clapped his hands together. Turning on his heel, his men made way for him as the Serpentium man slowly walked back to the bar entrance, "Bring them out."

Several gunshots and screams rang through the bar, and after a brief struggle, the two women were dragged out and thrown onto the wet, empty streets as the heavy rain continued to pour down on them. Getrud's dress clung to her skin as the scaly woman tried to help Maribelle up to her feet, the blonde biting her lip to hold back a cry of pain as blood trailed down from several bullet wounds on her leg. The rain washing away the blood and mixing it with the water at their feet, the 5 men lined on up the sidewalk as their leader held Getrud's shotgun in his hands and snapped it over his knee as if it was a twig. He tossed the two halves aside with a small laugh and dusted his hands, smiling.

"Now, you have a minute to tell me where the man in the mask is," Fafnir declared, the sound of his men switching off the safety of their guns audible through the rain to Getrud's sharp ears, "Otherwise, I'd have to make an example out of you. What happens when you don't give me, Fafnir, the **king** **of Streilson** , what I want."

"I already told you we know nothing!" Getrud screamed at them, trying to cover up the bleeding in Maribelle's leg with one hand. Her hair now a mess from the rain, Getrud shivered as her cold blood made the weather unbearable to her skin. She reached into her pockets and pulled out her wallet, "If you want money, then just fucking take it! Just leave us alone!" she flung her wallet at them and one of Fafnir's men caught it mid-air.

Fafnir disapprovingly wagged a finger and pulled out a pistol from his pockets as well, "I'll gladly take your money. But I already told you-" he switched off the safety of his weapon and aimed the barrel right at the bartender as she shielded Maribelle behind her body, "Where is the masked man?"

Gritting her sharp teeth, Getrud held onto Maribelle tight as she shot a fiery glare at them, unafraid of the threats of some criminals, and unwilling to sell-out her own workers for her own sake. Then, in the corner of her eye, she spotted someone looking at them from around the corner. Though it was dark, her reptilian eyes allowed her to see that it was none other than Akira that was watching them, though she could not see the expression on his face. If she could, Getrud would've just signaled him to run and save himself instead. She didn't need to get another person dragged into this mess. Whether or not he was the man in the mask that they were looking for, Akira was just a young man that didn't need to get himself in trouble.

Glancing back at the armed men, Fafnir's underlings raised up their pistols as well and aimed at the two women. Getrud held tightly onto Maribelle, who slowly began to pass out from blood-loss, and as she closed her eyes shut for the end that was about to come, she heard the faint noise of a violin through the heavy rain.

"Fire!"

A barrage of gunfire rang through the empty, rainy streets, the muzzle flare of their guns lightning up the dark with each shot, but as Getrud held her breath, nothing else but noise came. She heard the gunshots, but no more than that. Her eyes shot open, and as she looked in front of her, there, Akira stood in front of her, and surrounding them was a protective dome of violet light as crumpled-up bullets fell to the concrete at the violinist's feet. Getrud was at a lost for words, the armed men gasped in shock, and Fafnir, a smirk growing on his face, clapped his hands in applause.

Getrud stared at Akira's back as the boy looked at them over his shoulder with an apologetic glance. Only two words escaped the bartender's mouth.

"Kamen Rider..."

* * *

Standing in front of the two women with the dome of light around them withering away, Akira cursed himself for acting so rashly. He had jumped into the fray with little to no thought, as if his body had no other choice but to save them. Running his hand through his now messy, wet hair, Akira fired a piercing glare at the armed men who started reloading their weapons, "Fafnir, was it?" Akira spoke up, his hands raised to his abdomen area as his purple earring shined brighter with each passing second, "If you have business with someone, that would be **me**."

"And so arrives the masked man," Fafnir laughed, slamming a fresh magazine into his pistol, "I knew this would bring you out."

"A-Akira, what are you-"

"Stand back, Miss Getrud," Akira calmly said to the bartender as the rain slowly began to settle, "Get Maribelle and yourself to safety. I'll handle this."

Though she was hesitant to leave the young man all to himself, the bartender grimaced until she looked at the passed-out girl in her care and got up to her feet. With Maribelle bleeding out in her arms, the bartender ran for her apartment nearby and Fafnir's men left her be as their attention was placed solely on the violinist in front of them.

"You wanted to see me right?" Akira snapped his fingers, and in a bright flash of light, an ornate belt materialized around his waist, fastening itself around him as the front of the belt bore a giant musical symbol in the shape of an golden Treble clef, "You have my attention."

"The fuck is this?" one of Fafnir's men uttered as they raised their reloaded pistols at him again, "B-Boss, you sure he's just a normal kid?"

Fafnir scoffed and aimed his gun at Akira with an unfaltering grin, "Probably just some fancy tech from the old war. Open fire!" barking at his men, they unloaded their weapons on the violinist as dome of violet light projected around him once more and solidified like the shell of a turtle, causing their bullets to ricochet in all sorts of directions with ease.

As the last drop of rain fell onto Akira's protective shield, Fafnir and his men kept up the barrage of bullets despite their ineffectiveness. Akira then raised his hands over his waist, right before slamming them onto two buttons on the sides of his belt, causing the Treble clef symbol at the front of his belt to suddenly shimmer with violet energy. Covering the left side of his face with an open right hand, he crossed his left arm across his waist and clenched his hand into a fist. The whimsical strings of a violin echoed through the air. The sound of gunfire was replaced by the clicking of empty guns. Taking a deep breath, Akira narrowed his eyes and uttered a single word in his homeland's language, _"Henshin."_

The Treble clef on his belt flared up like a miniature sun with violet light, blinding Fafnir and his men as it announced in a deep, throaty voice, **"Viola: Soloist Form."**

To the utter shock of Fafnir and his guards, a black, armored suit began to materialize around Akira's body out of shining musical notes. Forming to the pleasant rhythm of a violin, his armor resembled the formal wear worn by musicians of a concert, with a split tail end on his back, white gloves and several glowing violet lines running through his body. A simple metal mask encasing his head, Akira's eyes stared through two big, glowing, compound eyes attached to lines that gave it the shape of a Quarter note as Fafnir's guards froze with fear. Then, the protective dome around him suddenly erupted, sending a wave of energy that blew Fafnir and his guards off their feet and sent them crashing through the windows of the Getrud's bar.

With a gloved hand placed on his chest, Kamen Rider Viola gave a theatrical bow and let out an eerie chuckle, "Now then, shall the concert begin?"

Rolling on the floor and covered in glass shards, Fafnir groaned in pain as the biggest of his guards got up, bloodied and fuming with anger at his injured comrades, "You goddamn brat! I'll tear your head from your shoulders!" nearly twice the size of Viola, the large Serpentium man roared as he mindlessly charged at Viola with his fingers growing into clawed hands.

Ducking underneath a crude swipe, Viola curled up one hand into a tight fist and hurled it straight into the larger man's abdomen, causing him to spew vomit from his mouth as the blow ruptured his internal organs. Falling to the concrete on his knees, Viola seized the man by the neck and struck him in the face with his fists, breaking his jaw with ease. The larger man now dazed, he couldn't do anything but struggle in Viola's sudden head-lock as Rider let out another eerie chuckle, "Such barbarity," a sickening snap rang through the air, one that got the attention of the 5 bleeding men on the ground as they saw the biggest of their group drop to the concrete with his head in a complete 180.

"You'll fucking pay for that!" angered by the death of their comrade, the rest of Fafnir's guards got up and sprinted towards Viola with unsheathed knives as Fafnir simply observed with an odd mix of shock and awe.

"Time for an encore, is it?" Viola smacked both buttons on the side of his belt again and the Treble clef at the front flashed a light that blinded the four guards as hundreds of glowing musical notes swirled into his arms. In his left arm, a buckler shield solidified itself in the shape of a violin and was secured to his forearm while his right hand held onto a cutlass in the shape of a violin's bow. The blinding light dimmed and the guards now found themselves up against a man with a blade, using no more than knives, "Harming Maribelle was a grave mistake," Viola hissed underneath his mask, brandishing his blade, "One that you will reimburse with your lives."

Lunging straight at him with their knives, the four guards surrounded him completely and sparks flew off Viola's shield as their knives grazed its surface with little to no harm. His cutlass swung through the air and parried the four attacker's blows with ease even as they surrounded him, Viola dancing left and right with their knives not even touching his armor. Wanting to waste no more time, Viola then crouched down and jumped into the air, the silver moon facing his back as the four guards looked up at him with utter shock.

"Let's hear your swansongs!" the violin-shaped shield on his arm glowed as strings formed over its surface, and in one smooth strike, he ran his blade across its strings, creating an ear-piercing screech that caused the four guards to grip the sides of their heads in pain. Descending upon his disoriented foes, Viola's cutlass shimmered as a fiery glow surrounded his blade. The Rider landed right in the middle of the four, and in a single blow Viola's blade ran through their abdomens before he knelt down on the concrete, the four guards suddenly standing completely still, "Only the dead have heard this song," in complete unison, the four guards dropped the floor and collapsed into a pile of guts and organs as their Serpentium blood ran through the street, dousing Viola's armor in green liquid while he stood up and glanced over to Fafnir.

The Serpentium man began to shake, his hands gripping his chest and his veins violently bulging as he started laughing like a madman, "So the legends were true. The famed 'Kamen Riders'. I found you. I finally fucking found you!" tearing off his eye-patch to reveal an eye with a glowing, slit pupil, Fafnir let out an animal-like roar as his muscles began convulsing, his clawed hands ripping and tearing at the suit he wore as Viola simply shook his head.

"A commander from the old war, huh?" Viola pointed the tip of his blade at him, "I'll give you a soldier's end, then."

"Don't get cocky with me!" Fafnir barked as his human skin was overtaken by the scales growing around his body, his armored skin spreading until no trace of human flesh remained. With a few audible crunches, Fafnir's face expanded, the Serpentium man's skull shifting and moving until he sprouted a lengthy snout. On his back, a powerful tail sprung forth and flickered in the air while covered in a thick hide. In a matter of seconds, the once human-looking Fafnir had turned into a grotesque, bipedal lizard, complete with clawed hands, blood-shot eyes, and scales all over as the remains of his suit hung on his body, "It's time for payback, you monkey!"

Charging at the Rider on all four limbs, Fafnir lunged at Viola and swiped at him with his claws, narrowly grazing his armored vest as Viola leaped backwards and skid to a halt right in front of a wall. He casually dusted his chest with a gloved hand and smirked underneath his mask, "So clumsy."

Screeching at his opponent, Fafnir charged at him once more, the claws on his hands growing into dagger-like proportions as Viola stood completely still. Swinging his claws right at the Kamen Rider, Viola ducked underneath at the last minute and debris flew everywhere as Fafnir's claws struck the brick wall behind him. Amidst the dust, Fafnir saw a faint glow before Viola's cutlass swung at him and dug into his scaly arm with an accompanying howl of pain. Green blood sprayed all over Viola's mask before Fafnir grabbed the Rider by the chest with his other arm and flung him across the street like a ragdoll.

The Rider swung his body around mid-air and landed right on his feet, Fafnir pulling out the Rider's blade from his forearm with a grunt of pain before throwing it to the ground where it vanished into violet particles.

"Time for plan B," his violin shield still with him, Viola held onto it with both hands and clicked on several buttons underneath his shield when Fafnir lunged straight at him again.

Like an animal with no sense of thought nor strategy, Fafnir threw his claws at the Rider again, only for Viola's shield to raise his shield and catch both attacks with ease. Viola's heels dug into the concrete, strings materialized on the surface of his shield, and with Fafnir's claws right on top of it, the strings were struck, causing the violin shield to emit its ear-piercing ring once more and flood the Serpentium's ears with a thousand horrid screeches. With Fafnir grasping the sides of his head in pain, Viola summoned his blade once more onto his other hand, and in two clean swings, the Serpentium's injured arms dropped onto the wet concrete, green blood spraying from the stumps that were left behind as the Serpentium screeched in pain.

Tossing away his weapons, Viola smacked a button on the left side of his belt and the Treble clef symbol glowed with energy as he hovered one palm over it. The Treble clef projected a laser into his hand, feeding the gathering energy in his belt and amassing a spiraling ball of energy in his palm.

Fafnir saw this, and in one last desperate move, swung his long tail at the Rider who proceeded to flip right over it with ease and flung the ball of energy right at him. It struck Fafnir in the chest and surged through his body, electricity coursing through the Serpentium's internal organs with a thousand more powerful violin screeches flooding his ears.

As Viola landed on the concrete again, Fafnir was wide open as the Rider let out one last eerie chuckle, "Time for your swansong."

Smacking a button on the right side of his belt this time, Viola's compound eyes shimmered with violet energy, the glowing lines traveling around his body following suit. In its deep, throaty voice, the belt announced, **"Finale: REQUIEM,"** bending his knees, Viola took in a deep breath and broke into a swift run straight towards the paralyzed Serpentium. With each step, with each meter he closed in, Viola's right foot burned more and more with a fiery glow until his entire right leg was encompassed with violet energy. The whimsical strings of a violin coursing through the air once more, Viola jumped into the air, his target still unable to move, and with a Treble clef symbol glowing right at the bottom of his heel, Viola's right foot dove straight into Fafnir's skull with a thundering quake that echoed through the streets. Viola then phased through Fafnir's body like a ghost and the Rider knelt down behind him on one leg, the Serpentium's body beginning to crack apart like glass.

"This concert is over," Viola slowly rose up to his feet. Fafnir fell onto his knees. With one last cry of pain, Fafnir's body blew apart in a fiery explosion that scorched the streets and the remains of his guards strewn across the concrete. When the fire settled, Fafnir, along with his guards, were little more than ashes that blew away in the wind as Viola stood among the flames, unharmed with nary a scratch on his tuxedo-like armor as smoke billowed into the night sky.

A smell akin to burnt leather permeating the air, the armor around Kamen Rider Viola vanished into shimmering particles shaped like musical notes and Akira took out his phone to check up on Getrud.

* * *

Hours after the Serpentium gang members had attacked the bar, moonlight reflected off the motorcycle helmet Akira was carrying under one arm as he zipped up his luggage and locked up the apartment that he would soon no longer be returning to. Slinging his luggage onto his back, Akira stared at his reflection on the surface of his helmet before letting out a small sigh. He strode down the metal stairs of the apartment complex, his helmet and violin casing under one arm, when he stopped and spotted none other than Getrud standing at the base of the stairs with a lit cigarette between her lips.

"You're leaving, aren't you?" Getrud glanced at the backpack he was carrying and the young man slowly nodded, "You don't have to, you know?"

Akira avoided her gaze as he spoke up, "I have to. If I stay here any longer, things would get worse, and I'd just put both you and Maribelle in more danger. Forgive me," continuing his way down the stairs, he walked pass the bartender when he felt her hand grip his shoulder, the young man halting where he stood.

"So what, you're just gonna run away? Hope that the same doesn't happen in the next town you head off to?" Getrud remarked in a low voice as she held her cigarette between her fingers, "People like them will keep looking for you, no matter where you go. In the end, you're better off just staying here instead of just going off to some other town with no place to stay or work at."

A small smile growing on his face, Akira felt a little grateful that she was somewhat worried about him. Slowly, he took her hand off his shoulder and looked over to Getrud's apartment across the street where the still-unconscious Maribelle was at, "I know. I've been doing this for a long time, Getrud. I know it isn't going to be easy, but I don't want to give you any more trouble than I already have. You and Maribelle could have been killed just now."

Getrud crushed her cigarette in her palm, its ashes falling to the floor, "You're not going to change your mind, are you?" she got a small shake of the head and the bartender clicked her forked tongue in annoyance, "Fine. I won't stop you. But," she bit her lips and gazed at him with a hard glare, "I have some friends in other towns. I'll ask around if they can take you in, just so your dumb ass doesn't end up sleeping in a gutter cause you can't find a job or an apartment. Got it? I'll force your ass to stay if you don't agree with me."

Something tugged at the corner of Akira's mouth, before the young man couldn't help but chuckle at the bartender's persistence.

"The Hell? I'm trying to help your sorry ass and you just laugh it off?" Getrud groaned, crossing her arms across her chest, "Damn kids these days."

"I'm quite grateful for your assistance, Miss Getrud. I will gladly take your offer, then. But... before I leave town, I would like to finish some business I have with the remains of Fafnir's gang. May I?" Akira got a small nod in response, and with that, he gave a small, theatrical bow before walking away to a parked motorbike on the sidewalk nearby. He placed his luggage and violin on the back of the bike, strapped on his helmet and the bike rumbled as he started the ignition. Revving the engine, he glanced over to the bartender and gave an earnest smile, "Call me when you get any news on what town I should be heading to, and do apologize to Maribelle for me for what happened. Now then," he flipped down the face-guard of his helmet, "I'll be heading off."

Getrud scoffed, her tail flickering behind her when she gave a bit of a smile, "Take care of yourself. Try not to get yourself killed, you hear me?"

"No promises," with those last two words said, the violinist then rode off into the night, the rumbling of his motorbike's engine echoing through the empty streets of Streilson as he made his way straight into the neon light-filled capital city in the distance. Intending to finish what was left of Fafnir's gang before he would leave town, the lone Kamen Rider drove towards the heart of the city where they operated at, the one place he had intended to cleanse of its remaining gang members many days ago. The shimmering capital of Streilson glowing like a beacon from afar, the whimsical strings of a violin echoed through the streets, followed by a single phrase that would be the last thing his enemies would hear when they faced him, _"Henshin!"_

* * *

 **Rider Parameters (Ranging from A-D)**

 **Kamen Rider Viola - Soloist Form**

 **Destructive Power: C**

 **Speed: B**

 **Durability: B**

 **Weapons: The Violin Shield and Bow Cutlass. The shield is capable of emitting shrieks upon being struck to disorient opponents and the cutlass can be empowered by being run across the shield's strings.**

 **Abilities: Pressing on the belt's left button can amass an orb of energy that can be thrown at enemies to paralyze them, or can instead be used to empower the violin shield and cutlass in both offense and defense. Pressing on the belt's right button will activate Viola's Finishers: A diving Rider Kick, a powerful Rider Punch, or an all-range Rider Slash.**

* * *

 **A/N: This is intended to be a one-shot only, since I just wanted to see what it felt like to do Kamen Rider in a literature-styled format. Though, if I feel like it, and if reactions are positive, I may release other stories featuring other Riders living in this world. It really was fun to come up stuff like the belts, jingles and concepts, but in the end I went for a simple belt jingle as they don't sound as good in a word format. The violinist thing was a personal appeal of mine, since I like the concept of literal killer music/musicians.**

 **Also Kamen Rider Build looks pretty damn good so far. I hope it lives up to Ex-Aid.**


	2. Let's Rock'n Roll!

In the bustling town of Glistoria, the afternoon light bathed down upon the tall buildings and houses that were still in the midst of reconstruction and renovation. Standing as a constant reminder of the war between the human and Serpentium races, one could not look in any direction without seeing one out of the thousands of construction workers in the city, or even the numerous giant cranes that towered over many. Despite the war having ended long ago, the city had only started rebuilding in the past few years, and one of the very first things that had been erected was the Glistoria War Museum.

Built to showcase memories of the bloody war, the museum stood tall with over 8 floors tops, housing the remains of human and Serpentium war machines as thousands of biographies and documentaries of the war were put on display. With hundreds of tourists filling the halls of the building, among them was a group of middle-school students, accompanied by their teacher with a museum guide leading them through the crowded halls, all the while droning on about what had happened during the war. Already near the end of their school trip, the heavily-bored students were glad when they were finally brought back to the lobby to wait for their school bus.

They wasted no time gathering around the numerous benches to talk about anything but the museum itself, and far away from the groups of chattering children, sat a lone boy with unkempt, shaggy hair and a game console console in hand.

The constant chattering of hundreds of tourists and his classmates were drowned out by the headphones in his ears as Arvin Geld, having little to no interest in socializing, simply focused on continuing his play-through of the classic game, _Taddle Fantasy_. His eyes were practically glued to the screen until he felt the cell phone in his pockets start to vibrate. Pausing the game and plucking out his headsets, Arvin saw that the incoming call was from none other than his big brother, Reynard.

"Hey Arvin!" his brother's voice boomed from his speakers as soon as he answered it, causing Arvin to lower the volume immediately, "How'd your field trip go? You're not playing your games again, are you?"

Arvin looked back at his game console and gave an unconvincing chuckle, "Nope, I left my 4DS at home. The museum was alright, I guess," Arvin shrugged and looked back at the hundreds of people that crowded the lobby, "I would like it a bit more if it wasn't so full, and the field guide was boring, too. I just wanna go home already," he gave a groan before continuing his _Taddle Fantasy_ play-through with one hand, "Shouldn't you be getting ready for your concert?"

"I know, I know! I just wanted to check on you, is all. Oh, and before I go, **no snacking** this afternoon, alright? Uncle Albert's treating us to dinner tonight!"

His brother's voice was full of energy usual, and all Arvin replied was a short, nonchalant, "M'kay."

"Alright, I gotta go. Can't keep the crowd waiting, after all! See you later!"

Closing his cell phone to continue playing his game console, Arvin was about to place his headphones back on when his ears picked up the chatter of his classmates behind him.

"Check it out, it's more news about that masked man!"

"Lemme see! Ah crud, the pictures are blurry again."

"I heard he stopped some bank robbers last night! It's like something out of a TV show!"

The latest news about the town's local vigilante piquing his interest, Arvin placed his headphones and game console in his pockets before getting up from his chair. He dusted his uniform and slowly went over to the circle of kids that his classmates had made on the benches. Hearing them chat nonstop about the local hero that had been the buzz of the town for the past few months, Arvin tried to approach them, only for his classmates to stop talking the very moment they had noticed him.

The boy halted in his steps, numerous eyes watching him as one of them hesitantly spoke up, "H-Hey Arvin, did you want something?"

Their talk screeching to an immediate halt at his presence, the boy simple sighed and shook his head, "No, it's nothing," he turned around and went back over to his chair.

As soon as he was at least a meter away, the circle of classmates continued their chat about the town's masked vigilante while Arvin sat back in his seat with his game console in hand. He was used to it at this point, having endured this ever since he entered school. Looking around the museum lobby, it's been years since the war had ended, but the discrimination and fear still held up, and for him, it was all just because his stepbrother just happened to be a Serpentium. He couldn't help but wonder just how his big brother could stay so friendly towards everyone he met, knowing the unease between the two races.

* * *

Meanwhile, sitting in the entertainment district of Glistoria among hundreds of bars, clubs and more, was the Galleria Music Hall. A combination of a diner and a concert hall, the place known for constantly changing to different genres depending on the day and time, and hosting numerous musicians from all over the city. On this sunny afternoon, the genre of the day, was none other that rock n'roll.

Inside the Galleria Music Hall, the fact of whether you were human or Serpentium didn't matter. In this small, little haven from the outside world, all you could hear was the chanting of the audience, all cheering in unison as the singer's booming, hot-blooded voice reverberated off the walls of the Music Hall with enough energy to practically burst one's lungs. Backed up by the adrenaline-pumping wailing of an electric guitar, the chaotic, bombastic hammering of the drums, and the low, creamy beats of the bass guitar, all these sounds were weaved into one coherent symphony of rock that got the entire crowd screaming with joy. Simply entering the Hall meant being enveloped by a wave of sheer ecstasy that would sweep any of their feet within seconds.

Leading this chaotic concert as both its guitarist and singer was the Serpentium teenager, Reynard Geld. The scales on his neck, arms and tail dyed in gold to match his messy, blonde hair, the white leather he and his band-mates wore were torn, decorated with bright gold chains and several heart marks. His scaly, clawed fingers shredded his guitar with chaotic precision, his booming voice echoing through the halls with enough energy to get the crowd to sing along, and as their song slowly came to the end, the drummer hammered away at his instrument with his sticks as the bassist backed him up. All the while, Reynard picked up bottle of beer sitting by his feet, chugged it, held it in his mouth and flicked open a lighter in his pocket before spewing the alcohol through the flames, a burst of dragon-like fire spreading throughout air as the entire crowd went wild.

Wiping his mouth with his sleeves, Reynard and his band members all bowed down before exiting the stage as the crowd applauded at them, all three heading to the back to let the next batch of performers take over.

In the restroom, Reynard rinsed his face in the sink, washing away all the sweat that had gathered on his face before drying himself with a paper towel. Tossing the used towel into a nearby trashcan, the Serpentium teen looked at his reflection on the mirror and gave a sharp-toothed, cocky smirk, "All in day's work, Rey, all in a day's work," plucking out a bit of paper that had gotten stuck in one of the scales on his face, a gold, musical note-shaped earring hung on one of his pointed ears as the boy went out of the restroom and towards the locker rooms to meet up with his band members.

Barging through the doors with the grace of a rampaging rhino, Reynard was curious to see the locker room completely barren with only his drummer, Mishima, present in the room at all. Mishima practically jumped when the guitarist bulldozed his way in and let out a relieved sigh before pocketing the phone in his hand, "Oh, Rey, there you are."

"Sup!" Reynard closed the door behind him with a flick of his tail, "Where's Ikeda? Couldn't find him on the way here," his tail dragged over a plastic chair by the legs and the boy straddled it as he sat in front of the drummer. Looking back at Mishima, he was gonna ask something else when he noticed the sudden downcast expression on his friend's face, "Something wrong, Shima?" Reynard cautiously asked as he scratched a scale on his neck.

"Well... you see..." the drummer tapped his fingers on his shaking leg, the boy avoiding his friend's gaze. His leg still shaking, Mishima audibly gulped before giving a clear answer, "Ikeda's gone home early today. Both of us are a bit occupied lately, since he and I are... well... leaving town. Tomorrow."

Reynard's eyes widened, but the rest of his face remained unchanging. For a second he said nothing, before he scratched the back of his neck and gave his friend a small, understanding smile, "Ah, it's cause of the terror attacks, right? Yeah. Stuff's been pretty common lately," Reynard's tail flickering behind him, the guitarist gave a small dismissive wave of the hand, "It's alright. Stuff like that _is_ pretty damn terrifying, after all. Can't blame you two for wanting to leave."

Mishima then stood up and gave a deep, apologetic bow that nearly threw him off his feet, "W-We wanted to tell you sooner. But you were so excited for this concert that-"

Reynard placed a hand on his shoulder and the Serpentium teen gave him a toothy grin, "It's fine! Really, it is," he got and up went over to his locker, opening it up to fetch two cans of beer. He tossed Mishima a can before Reynard popped open his own, "As long as you don't stop making people happy with your music, then it's fine. We could always text each other, too. So don't worry about me, alright?" Reynard leaned on his locker and chugged down his beer while Mishima slowly nodded.

"R-Right," Mishima's hand started to shake as he held his beer can in both hands. Turning away from the guitarist, the drummer picked up his bag from a nearby bench and walked towards the door, "I'll see you later then... Ciao."

"See you later, alligator," the Serpentium teen laughed, and when the drummer finally made his way out the door, the smile Reynard had held slightly dimmed down.

It wasn't the first time he had to see friends leave town because of the rising crime rates and terrorist attacks. He'd seen plenty come and go throughout the years, so it was easy to let go at this point. Even though many crimes had been stopped by his run as the local masked hero, the people would never stop living in fear, and crime would never stop. Crumpling the empty beer can in his grip, Reynard tossed it into the trash before tapping both of his cheeks with his scale-covered hands to ease his mind. He glanced over to the small TV in the corner of the room and picked up the remote, switching it on to check the afternoon news.

While changing his rocker outfit into a pair of more modest clothing, Reynard listened to the afternoon reports.

"Good afternoon, folks, this is the Glistoria News Station and we have new reports about the town's 'masked hero'. Last night, several Serpentium men had attempted to rob the city bank and were fortunately stopped by the local hero, 'the White Mask'. This 'White Mask' had fled the scene after quickly detaining the robbers and the police are still unsure on how they feel about this masked vigilante. Is he really a hero? Or this is just a menace pretending to be one?"

Reynard stuffed his leather jacket in his locker and put on a simple t-shirt and jeans. But before he could switch the Television, he heard the newsman's tone suddenly change.

"Breaking news! The Glistoria War Museum is under attack by a group of pro-human insurgents. Numerous people are currently being held hostage and the police have surrounded the building. The insurgents have made several demands at this point, but the police are unable to comply."

The teen stared at the recording of the museum on the screen, and as he remembered where Arvin had gone to this afternoon, Reynard ran out of the locker room, his golden earring shimmering bright.

* * *

It was precisely around 4:30 PM when the Glistoria War Museum had been attacked by a group of pro-human insurgents. The entire ten-floor building now surrounded by a barricade of squad cars, the police couldn't do anything but stand by as the insurgents held their hostages at gunpoint. Reynard had raced there on his motorbike and parked it on the side-walk upon arrival. The War Museum was still a distance from here, but all traffic heading towards there had come to a dead halt, leaving the boy no other choice but to make the rest of the way on foot.

Reynard squeezed his way through the crowds of people that were wondering what was going on, his phone pressed to his ear as he slowly reached the barricade the police had set up. After several entire minutes of ringing, there was no answer from his little brother, and he could only assume that Arvin was somewhere in there as a hostage. Sweat trailing down the side of his face, Reynard finally reached the police barricade with bated breath. The building was just across the street, but there was no way pass the police.

Seeing this, the Serpentium teen ran into a small, cramped alley devoid of people, and after making sure that there was absolutely no one in sight, Reynard took in a deep breath, the musical note-shaped earring hanging on one of his pointed ears shimmering with gold.

"Hang in there, Arvin. Big bro's coming for you," Reynard snapped his fingers, and in a bright flash of light, a belt covered in chains and rusted metal materialized around his waist, fastening itself around him as the front of the belt bore a giant symbol in the shape of a violet Treble clef. A golden dome of light projecting itself around him like a protective shield, Reynard then held up his hands, right before slamming them onto two buttons on the sides of his belt.

The violet Treble clef at the front was then flooded golden energy, the light shining bright enough to flood the entire alleyway with gold as the chaotic strings of an electric guitar rang in the air.

Cracking his knuckles with a cocky smirk that showed off his sharp teeth, Reynard's tail flickered excitedly as he uttered the phrase he was taught long ago when this belt was passed onto him, _"Henshin."_

A thousand glowing musical notes swirling around his body like a snake enveloping its prey, Reynard's belt announced in a deep, throaty voice, **"Axe: Soloist Form."**

A white suit of armor begun to form around him to the hot-blooded shredding of an electric guitar, his armor resembling that of a rock n'roll performer with a leather trench-coat adorned with golden chains, several glowing lines of gold traveling around his white form, and two speaker-shaped jump rockets attached to his legs. A metal mask with a heart tattoo encasing his head, Reynard stared through two big, glowing compound eyes attached to lines that gave it the shape of a Quarter note, his pointed ears and reptilian tail also encased in a protective armored casing that matched his white armor.

The dome of light around him burst apart and sent the trash cans around him flying through the air as Kamen Rider Axe flicked his wrist and tail in unison, "Alright, let's rock'n roll!"

Knowing that there was no way into the war museum through any conventional means, Axe gazed up at the walls of the alley he was in when a bright idea came to mind. Crouching down on one knee, Axe smacked the button on the left side of his belt and the speaker rockets around his legs emitted a low hum. Taking another deep breath, Axe jumped into the air like a rabbit on steroids, landing on the rooftop and cracking it under his weight upon landing. There, he could see the war museum just across the street, and from here, all it took was one more jump to get in there.

Rubbing his gloved hands together, Axe uttered a small prayer to God that this will work, rolled his shoulders, and with nothing to lose, Axe broke into a swift run. The Rider held his breath the closer he got to the edge of the roof, sweat pouring down his face, and as his foot dug into the edge of the rooftop, he smacked the button on the left side of his belt again, causing his legs' jump rockets to erupt and send him flying across the street as onlookers from below gazed at him in shock. Leaping across the street in a single bound, Axe curled up into a ball before smashing through the glass windows of the museum, tumbled across the floor and smacked face-first into a hard wall.

Letting out a small, pitiful groan, Axe slowly picked himself up from the floor and spotted a sign above that signified that he was on the 3rd floor, "That's convenient," Axe laughed to himself and dusted his trench-coat before making his way through the numerous displays of war documentaries that filled the hall. Each step pronounced by the jingling of the golden chains on his jacket, Axe's pointed ears then picked up a voice echoing through the building, one that upon further listening to, was most likely the voice of the human insurgents' leader.

It sounded like it was coming from the lobby, and when Axe spotted an emergency staircase in the corner, he wasted no time heading downstairs.

* * *

In the main hall of the Glistoria War Museum, Axe sneaked his way through the thousands of antique machinery and documentaries on display, following the voice of the insurgents' leader who was busy making demands to the police in exchange for the release of their hostages. Hearing nothing but stuff about how the public were, 'fools to be at peace with those that they had once fought against' and how, 'the Serpentium's mere presence are a danger to the human race', the Rider just tried to focus on saving the hostages and his brother.

Slowly opening up the door to a balcony overlooking the main lobby, Axe gingerly stepped out onto the balcony and looked down to see the insurgents, along with their Serpentium hostages still held at gunpoint while lined up against a wall. The built-in binocular vision in Axe's compound eyes zoomed in on the hostages and scanned their faces, but while he could see that they were mostly the staff of the museum and some tourists, he couldn't find his brother among them. 'But if Arvin wasn't being held hostage, then why wasn't he answering his phone?' was a thought that raced through his mind before Axe shook his head in an attempt to refocus.

He had to get the hostages out before taking care of the insurgents, and as he tried to make up a plan to even do this, he heard the insurgent leader speak up again.

"Fine! If you won't listen to our demands, then it looks like we have to show why you should take us seriously!"

Axe saw about 11 men in total, all armed with rifles and dressed in kevlar as they raised their guns at the hostages lined up against the wall. While the insurgent leader continued shouting into his megaphone, Axe could hear the hostages beginning to beg for their lives.

"If I don't see the hostages' ransom in 5 minutes, we'll be executing them altogether, you hear me?! We're not screwing around here!"

The Rider tightened up one hand into a shaking fist, the boy gritting his sharp teeth underneath his mask. His body was practically screaming at him to act. Even if he couldn't find his brother, he couldn't ignore the lives of innocents.

"3 minutes!"

His armored tail behind him started whipping about, the Rider slowly rising up and climbing onto the balcony railing.

"2 minutes!"

Gazing down upon the 11 armed men in the lobby below, Axe cracked his knuckles as golden musical notes swirled into his hands to form a pair of brass knuckles.

"1 minute!"

"It's showtime," jumping off the balcony, Axe descended upon the lobby, the tails of his trench-coat fluttering about, and in one devastating landing that shattered the marble floors below and echoed through the halls of the museum like a firework going off, the Rider's grand entrance had kicked up a cloud of smoke and dust that slowly began to settle.

The 11 armed men and their hostages froze with shock where they stood, the insurgents all aiming their guns at the withering cloud of smoke before gasping at the sight of none other than a Kamen Rider. The hostages now relieved to see the local vigilante finally arrive, the leader of the insurgents began shaking at the sight of the masked warrior, Axe's trench-coat fluttering in the wind as light reflected off the chains around his body.

"A K-Kamen Rider?" the insurgent leader threw away his megaphone and aimed his shaking gun at Axe, "But why?! You Kamen Riders are supposed to be heroes of us humans, aren't you?! Why are you protecting these monsters?!" then, the leader gasped when he saw the armored tail that was attached to Axe's armor, a tail that begun lashing about like a whip, "I see. So it's just about protecting your own kind, eh? Typical."

Unafraid of the 11 guns that were trained on him, Axe's arm cut through the air as he pointed a damning finger straight at the insurgent leader, "That's where you're wrong, scumbag! A Kamen Rider is a hero of justice, and as such, I don't give a **damn** if you're human or Serpentium! The only ones I take care of are those that have the gall to pick on the innocent," Axe ran his gaze over the 11 armed men and flicked his wrist and tail in unison, his grip on his brass knuckles tightening, "And from what I can see, you guys are **exactly** the kind of assholes I deal with."

A majority of the insurgents could be seen shaking where they stood, but their leader put on a brave face, "Let's see you try, brat. Men, unload on this damn clown!" with an overconfident grin, the insurgent leader and his men fired upon the Rider with their guns, blasting away on full automatic as their bullets simply bounced off his white trench-coat and gold chains like pebbles upon steel.

"Alright then! Time to make some music!" smashing one fist into an open palm, Axe let out an immense roar as he drove his fist into the floor below and erupted a shock-wave that blew the 11 men off their feet, "Run!" Axe shouted to the hostages who all broke for the nearest exit while the insurgents were still lying on the floor. Looking back at his enemies, Axe let out another roar as he then charged at them with his fists burning bright with gold.

"Shoot him down, dammit!" one of the insurgents shrieked, picking up his rifle a second too late as Axe's fist drove into his face like a bulldozer and sent the man tumbling into a bench that snapped upon impact.

The other insurgents now firing in a state of panic, their bullets continued to bounce off Axe's thick armor as he charged at them like a wild animal, his fists sending them flying across the lobby like rag-dolls single strikes as each blow sounded like a gun going off. One insurgent had reached into his pockets and drew out a thick knife at the Rider, only for Axe's tail to lash at him and smack the weapon from his hands before the Rider sent him flying with a powerful blow to the ribs. The man hit the wall behind him with a loud thud and collapsed onto the floor, barely able to move.

But as Axe rubbed his smoking brass knuckles, the Rider had not realized one thing, and that was the fact that during the fighting, the insurgent leader had sneaked away.

He was nowhere to be seen among the numerous groaning men lying on the floor, but Axe then heard a loud rumble begin to fill the room. Sounding like a heavy machine starting up, the Rider turned to the entrance of the museum's main hall and gazed at the double-doors in front of him, right before they were blown from their hinges by a powerful blast. As bits of wood and metal showered the Rider for a brief moment, Axe heard a loud whirring sound follow suit.

The insurgent leader reappeared, now donning an antique suit of power armor that had been used by the humans during the war. Towering at nearly twice the Rider's height, smoke billowed from exhaust pipes traveling around his body with the armor's helmet shaped like the bare skull of a human. The insurgent leader's laughter echoing through the armor's speakers, he smashed his giant, over-sized fists together as electricity hissed from the armor's rusting joints, "Come on, 'Kamen Rider', let's see what happens when you pick with someone your own size!"

Flicking his wrist and tail in unison, Axe smacked the button on the left side of his belt and the speaker rockets on his legs emitted their low hum, "Sure! I'm always in the mood for an encore!" leaping across the lobby in a single bound, Axe threw his fists straight at the armored man, only to bounce right off an energy shield forming around the power armor. Hitting floor with a small grunt, Axe looked up and saw the armored man's fists hovering over him, "Uh oh," the man's fists descending upon him, Axe attempted to hold back the man's attack with all four limbs, all of which began to slowly bend underneath the man's enhanced strength before his tail smacked his belt's left button again.

A low hum emitting from his speaker rockets, the insurgent leader's armored fists were then blown clean from arms as Axe's speaker rockets ripped the armor apart with ease, leaving his hands bare as the insurgent leader reeled backwards in shock, "W-What the Hell?!"

The Rider hopped back onto his feet and rolled his shoulders before smacking both buttons on the sides of his belt, the Treble Clef at the front glowing bright gold, "Ya mind if I **axe** you a question?" a hundred glowing musical notes swirled into his hands, and to the insurgent's leader shock, a two-handed battleaxe in the shape of an axe guitar solidified in the Rider's hands. The guitar's body was one gigantic blade with its neck being the handle, but what made it stranger was the fact that the head of the handle resembled the barrel of a cannon, "Axe-guitar Gun, pretty cool name, right?"

"Y-You goddamn punk! Quit fucking around!" barking like a mad dog, a machine gun built into his armor arose from the back of his suit and began spraying the entire room with bullets as his injured men crawled to find cover from their leader's own gunfire.

Axe just sighed as bullets continued to just bounce off his leather jacket, and as he flicked his tail and wrist in unison again, he aimed the head of his guitar straight at the armored man. Bullets still reflecting off his mask and leather jacket without nary a scratch, the brass knuckles Axe held reconstructed themselves into a single guitar pick held between his fingers as golden strings formed over the axe-guitar gun's surface, "If you wanna hear some real music, then listen to some of this! It's time for your curtain-call, pal!"

He smacked the button on the right side of his belt, causing Axe's compound eyes to shimmer with golden energy as the glowing lines traveling around his body following suit. In its deep, throaty voice, his belt announced, **"Finale: REQUIEM,"** Axe dug his heels into the floor, the golden energy stored within the Treble Clef on his belt all traveling into his right arm as he wielded his guitar pick. Upon hearing armored man's machine gun now ring empty, Axe, in one powerful motion, struck the strings of his guitar, and in what could only be described as the sound of a thousand bombs going off, a hundred golden musical notes erupted from the head of his guitar as Axe himself slid backwards from the immense recoil.

Spiraling through the air like a swarm of missiles, the insurgent leader erected his energy shield in a panic, only for the golden projectiles to rain down upon him and break apart the field like fragile glass. The musical notes then pummeled man's armor over and over, tearing his suit apart like paper before sending the man crashing into the wall behind him.

Now buried underneath a pile of bricks and bits of broken wood, the insurgent leader had finally been taken out as Axe's weapon vanished into musical note-shaped particles.

The Rider ran up to the pile of debris that the man was buried under, and there, lying underneath the debris, the man was bleeding, but alive for sure. Buried up to his neck in the remains of his busted armor and broken rubble, the bloodied man looked up at the Rider as he silently stared down on him, "W-Why...?" the insurgent leader let out a sick cough, barely able to speak at this point, "Why... didn't you... kill me... my men...? You're... toying with me, aren't you? You damn... Serpentium..."

Axe then grabbed the man by his neck, before easily pulling him out of the rubble with his immense strength and dropping him onto the marble floor, still covered in bits of ash and debris, "It's not my right to take lives, bud," Axe dusted his trench-coat as the gold chains he wore jingled, his armored tail swaying left and right behind him, "Didn't you hear me? I'm a Kamen Rider. I save lives, all in the name of justice. Killing you would be easy, but that's not how I run. It's the police's job to judge you, not mine."

Staring at the Rider with a look of utter confusion, the insurgent leader simply chuckled and lied down on the floor, defeated, "What a load of shit."

"Call it whatever you want, pal. Cause I don't give a damn," Axe dusted his hands as he could hear the police start to arrive, "It's just how I do things," looking at up at the glass ceiling of the lobby, Axe smacked the left button on his belt and the speaker rockets in his legs emitted their low hum before the Rider leaped towards the ceiling. The glass ceiling shattered apart and shards fell onto the lobby floor as the police broke through the doors to the museum, finally arriving as Kamen Rider Axe took his leave.

* * *

The light of the setting sun stretching across the housing districts of Glistoria, the rumbling of Reynard's bike echoed through the neighborhood as he parked in front of his house. Kicking up his bike's stand, Reynard took off his helmet and rubbed his sore pointy ears. But while the thought of getting a new helmet that was actually comfortable for a Serpentium occupied his mind, the teen couldn't help but wonder just what had happened to his brother. Getting off his bike and stepping towards his house with his key in hand, Reynard wondered if the police had found him somewhere in the museum, as Arvin could've been hiding somewhere when the attack came.

Unlocking the front door, Reynard stepped inside, worried sick about his little brother, before the Serpentium teen collapsed onto the floor and started shivering to the point that his teeth were chattering nonstop. Being a Serpentium and all, Reynard possessed cold-blood, and upon entering the house, he had not noticed the fact that the entire household's temperature was possibly below 13 degrees Celsius, "W-Why is t-the AC t-t-turned on?!" Reynard crawled on the floor, attempting to find the AC controller while shaking nonstop, "A-A-Arvin, don't t-tell me y-y-you're in here?!"

Hearing Reynard's shouting, Arvin, dressed in his pajamas, stepped out of his bedroom with his game console in hand and noticed his big brother lying on the floor. The Serpentium's teen tail was frozen stiff as he was possibly on the brink of death, "Oh, there you are! Sorry about the AC. Forgot about it," rushing over to the AC controller on the couch, he increased the temperature and opened up a nearby closet to toss his brother an electric blanket, "Where were you anyway? I thought your concert ended hours ago."

Reynard draped himself in his blanket like a cocoon, switched it on and let out one big sigh of relief, before said relief turned back into frustration, "Where was 'I'?! Where were you?! I was- Wait a minute..." he gazed at the game console in Arvin's hand before the younger boy attempted to hide it behind his back, "Don't tell me... you were playing games all afternoon, and you didn't even check your phone to see if I called you?!"

Arvin gave an unconvincing chuckle and stuck his tongue out, "Woops."

Gritting his teeth, Reynard lied back on the floor and let out one, long frustrated groan to the point their neighbors probably heard them, all the while Arvin sat down on the living room couch, completely oblivious to everything that had happened this afternoon.

Sitting back upright after several minutes of even more groaning, Reynard ruffled his hair before letting out one last sigh, "Whatever! Just... Just go dress up, already. We're going out for dinner."

"Gotcha," Arvin gave a military-like salute and skipped over to his room, closing it behind him as Reynard got up from the floor.

The room's temperature now at a tolerable level, Reynard hung his electric blanket on a nearby chair and dropped himself on the couch, switching on the television for some background noise as Reynard found himself utterly exhausted from everything that had happened today. His band-mates were leaving town, he had to stop another terror attack, and now all that worrying about his brother turned out to be for naught in the end. Just thinking about all this made him frustrated until he tapped himself on the cheeks to ease his mind.

With a small groan, Reynard lied his head back on the sofa and looked up at the framed family portrait that hung above the television set. There, the sight of his Serpentium mother and human father brought a small smile back on his face. Upon hearing his brother coming back out of his room, Reynard reached for the gold earring he wore and tapped the device. The small piece of jewelry promptly ejecting itself from his ear, Reynard placed it on the table, thinking that just for this night alone, he wanted no more than to spend some quality time with Arvin.

* * *

Arriving in the Galleria Music Hall, the two brothers entered the concert hall/diner and found that tonight's genre was the smooth rhythm of classical music. Upon going through the double-doors to the diner area, Reynard and Arvin were greeted by the whimsical strings of a violin, a sound so pleasant that both of the two had to stop where they stood for a minute to listen to such a sound.

There, standing alone on the stage tonight was a single performer, his hand gently caressing the violin in his grip as he ran his bow across its strings. Reynard gazed at him with curiosity when the Music Hall's owner, Albert Arnest, approached the two from behind and clapped them both on the shoulders to get their attention.

"Evening, boys! It's good to see you two again! Your table's the same place as usual, so take a seat and relax!" being a large man with a deep, baritone voice and fancy suit that was modified to fit his hulking stature, the two boys were a few feet shorter than him as they beamed at his appearance.

"Who's that new guy over there?" Arvin couldn't help but ask while pointing to the performer on stage, "Don't think I've seen him around before."

"Him? Oh, he's from out of town," Albert explained while glancing at the violinist, "A friend of mine asked me a favor, so I hired him after he moved into town a few days ago. He's pretty good, I'll admit," then, the large man snapped his fingers upon remembering something and turned to Reynard, "Oh, Rey, your friends left something for you in the locker room. You should go check it out before you go eat."

Unsure what was this about, the Serpentium teen nodded as his brother went ahead to go wait for him at their table.

Stepping into the backstage of the Music Hall, Reynard opened up the door to the locker room, the place still empty as it was a few hours ago, and closed the door behind him. He could still hear the sound of the violin from outside seep into the room, the teen walking up to his locker and opening it up to find a small envelope sitting underneath a few beer cans and some of his belongings.

Tilting his head to one side, Reynard pulled out the letter and used the claws around his scaly fingers as a makeshift letter-opener. His tail slowly swayed behind him as Reynard pulled out a letter from within the envelope and begun reading its contents.

"Rey, even though it's only been a few months since we got together as a band, Ikeda and I are grateful for what you've done to help us pull through. At first, we didn't think that we could do it, but your persistence got us through times that we thought would've stopped our dream as a band right then and there. I know we should've told you earlier that we were moving, but we didn't want to ruin your expectations for the concert. We didn't want you to sing, knowing that it was going to be the last time we would ever play together. Ikeda and I are in no position to ask for your forgiveness, but, just know that no matter what, we always saw you as a friend, first and foremost. We don't care if you're a Serpentium or whatever. To us, you were the best band-mate we've ever met. Take care, Rey, and rock on like you always do."

Reynard's lips pursed, his sharp fingers tightening around the edge of the letter as a single teardrop fell onto the paper.

Wiping his eyes with the sleeves of his shirt, Reynard took in a deep breath as he felt his throat go dry. Pocketing the letter, the boy closed the locker and leaned on the hard metal, a small smile growing on his face while his tail slowly swayed left and right.

Staring at his feet in silence, Reynard wondered why - even though he had seen it happen so many times until now - did stuff like this always get this kind of reaction out of him.

Then, the door opened up and the boy wiped away the remaining tears in his eyes as someone else stepped into the room.

Looking back up, Reynard now found himself exchanged surprised glances with the violinist that had been playing on the stage earlier. The violinist took a step back when he noticed Reynard, giving a small bow of apology while he held his violin under one arm, "Apologies for not knocking. I didn't think anyone was in here."

"Nah, i-it's fine. I wasn't doing much anyway," Reynard chuckled, scratching a scale on his neck as the violinist took his gesture to come in and sat down on one of the numerous chairs in the room for a short break. Now that he got a good look of him, he couldn't help but notice just how... formal, the violinist was. With neatly-kept hair that was a dark shade of purple, a cultivated style of speaking and an odd mysterious aura underneath that polite smile of his, Reynard couldn't help but ask, "So, uh, you're the new guy, right? What's your name?"

"Akira," the violinist politely answered, sipping the bottle of water in his sweaty hands before wiping them with a handkerchief, "Murasaki Akira."

The violinist looked only slightly older than him, but he still wasn't sure if he was supposed to refer to him by last or first name. Still, with his tail nervously flickering behind him, Reynard replied, "Well, then the name's Reynard. Reynard Geld," he added a sharp-toothed grin that got an amused chuckle out of the violinist.

"A pleasure to meet you," Akira replied with a small bow of the head.

Giving another small grin, Reynard then remembered that his brother was still waiting for him at their table and he had a dinner to get to, "R-Right! Anyway, I gotta go. Ciao!" exchanging a small goodbye gesture with the violinist, Reynard quickly stepped out of the locker room, smiling to himself as his pointed ears twitched ever so slightly.

No matter how many people he had to see leave this town, Reynard knew he had to continue fighting. No matter how many crimes popped up in this town, no matter how many sleepless nights he had to spend patrolling the entire city, he had to continue to uphold his inherited duty as a Kamen Rider. Even if he had to keep it a secret from his brother, even if he would never find any recognition from the public other than being called a 'masked vigilante', he would never hesitate to save any lives when he could. It was his duty... as a hero of justice.

* * *

 **Rider Parameters (Ranging from A-D)**

 **Kamen Rider Axe - Soloist Form**

 **Destructive Power: A**

 **Speed: D**

 **Durability: A**

 **Weapons: The Axe-guitar Gun and Pick Knuckles. The pick knuckles are Axe's favorite weapon due to his no-kill policy and only resorts to the Axe-guitar Gun on specific occasions. As the name implies, it functions as both a battleaxe and a gun with varying degrees of power, depending on how Axe strums his guitar.**

 **Abilities: Due to Axe's low mobility from his armor's weight, pressing the button on the left side of the belt will activate Axe's speaker rockets, which gives him an immense help in catching up to faster targets or covering large distances in one jump. Pressing on the right side of the belt will instead activate his Finishers: an Rider Dropkick, along with a Rider Blast and Rider Smash with the Axe-guitar Gun.**

* * *

 **Welp, so much for one-shot, right? Although I _really_ did plan this to be a one-time thing, my brain ended up creating 3 other Riders against my will _and_ creating an overarching story to bring all four into one story. I hate myself sometimes. Oh well, creating the concept of the other Riders and making them foils was immensely fun. Guess I'll be continuing this and renaming the story while I'm at it.**


	3. The Sound of Crossing Harmonies

It was quarter to midnight in the town of Glistoria, the pitter-patter of rainfall hitting the roof echoing through Akira's apartment as the violinist lied down on his bed with his phone to his ear. His violin casing, motorbike helmet and luggage sitting in one corner of the small room, torn curtains covered the windows, a wooden table with a table lamp shining on an empty pitcher of water. The chair and table were both worn from age, and there was a musky odor permeating the air as an old, broken AC was built into the wall.

"So, how's it over there?" Getrud's husky voice could be barely be heard from the other end of the line due to the poor reception.

"It's quite fine. The apartment's rent isn't too high for my liking, and it's conveniently close to the Music Hall," Akira stared at the dirty ceiling of his room and added, "Though a little cleaning up may be in order before I start doing my usual business."

He heard a small groan from the Serpentium woman, "You know I sent you there **because** of the local hero running around, right? Just so for once you can just take it easy and leave the heroics to someone else."

"Ah, about that, Getrud," Akira sat up from his small bed and walked over to the torn curtains, pushing them aside to glance at the falling rain outside, "I've been looking into this 'local hero' lately, and I've been a bit confused."

"About what? Everything we've heard of pretty much says that it's another one of your Rider pals going around, right?"

"That's correct, but... may not be entirely true," the violinist leaned on the windowsill, the faint sound of the rainfall outside slightly audible, "From what I've looked up, I've managed to make a guess on this local hero's identity: Kamen Rider Axe. I may not have known her outside of hearing about her exploits during the One Year War, but Axe was a rather blood-thirsty fighter. Yet now, she seems to be doing nothing more than arresting criminals, and despite this, Glistoria is still teeming with underground crime," he reached one hand into his pockets and took out his purple earring, "I cannot ignore this. I must look into it, along with Axe's strange behavior as well."

For a few minutes, Akira didn't hear any reply from Getrud, until came a defeated sigh, "Fine. I guess I can't stop you from saving people. But, just be careful, alright? Maribelle and I have been... worried... about you," a grateful smile growing on his face from the woman's worry, he heard a faint stutter in her tone before it suddenly shifted, "But if I hear **anything** about Albert and his Music Hall getting into trouble cause of you, I'm gonna drive over there and shove that violin up your ass, you hear me?"

"I wouldn't mind you doing that at all, honestly," Akira slyly replied as he heard the bartender repeatedly cough on the other end of the line.

"Ugh! Anyway, I gotta go. It's late and I gotta close up the bar. The place still isn't fixed up after Fafnir and his goons came along," he heard the bartender take a loud swig of alcohol, along with the bottom of a bottle slamming back onto a table with a loud satisfied sigh from the woman, "Anyway, good night. Take care of yourself."

"Have a pleasant evening, Madam," Akira said with a smile before closing his cell phone shut.

Tossing the device back on his bed, Akira gazed out the window with crossed arms and saw the tall, half-constructed buildings outside that dwarfed his apartment block. The evening rainfall not looking like it was going to stop anytime soon, Akira couldn't help but wonder why Axe was suddenly playing hero all of a sudden. Though he had nothing against it, Axe's mercy was doing little to stem the rising crime rates in this town. He had to find her and get a clear answer for this, but first, he had to do what Axe had been not been able to, and that was to find the crime bosses in this city and eliminate them. Fafnir and his gang were easy to take out, and all it took for them were a few nights.

His footsteps echoing through the small room as Akira approached his luggage, the young man placed his musical note-shaped earring on one ear, changed out of the home clothes he wore into a warm, violet jacket with matching pants, and glanced over to the cell phone on his bed, "Forgive me, Getrud. But it seems that I will be too busy tonight to get some sleep," he picked up the helmet lying next to his luggage and went over to the door, giving one small glance back into his new room before he headed off with a small grin on his face.

* * *

In the far outskirts of the city where all you could see were the abandoned buildings that had yet to be renovated, the heavy rain fell upon the empty, trash-filled streets as light could be seen in a room of one of the many, many buildings. Inside the barren apartment, two men paced the halls, wearing casual clothing with guns hidden beneath. One of them carrying a paper clipboard in his hands, the two walked through a door at the end of the hall and entered a small, dark room where several women and children lied unconscious in cages. Bound, gagged and cuffed, the two men scanned the cages each while one of them ticked the clipboard in his hands.

"This should be enough for our quota today," the taller man with several scars on his face said, looking at the kids lying in the cages, "Ya think we're getting paid extra for a bunch of brats this time?"

"Kamoshida, the boss doesn't give a damn about how old they are," the one with the clipboard casually answered, "As long as we do things quiet, we're getting paid our bonus. It helps that the man in the mask still hasn't even found out about what we do."

Laughing a little, Kamoshida pulled out a cigarette from his pockets and flicked his lighter, the glow of his stick casting a small glow on his scarred face, "Whatever. As long as those lizard freaks pay us on time, then it's fine by me. Let's go. This place reeks," turning back to the door, the two man walked out of the room and shut it closed behind them, locking it with a key this time before heading to a different part of the building.

Entering a large room with little to no light, Kamoshida went over to a switch on the wall while his friend pulled over a chair and lit a stick of his own. Running his hand along the wall to find the switch, Kamoshida felt it and flicked it on, but no light came into the room, "The fuck?" he switched it on and off repeatedly before smacking his fist into the thing, "Piece of shit. Yo, Madarame, go find some candles, will ya?"

Using his lighter as a source of light, Madarame tossed his clipboard onto a small table in the room and started rummaging through the several crates of junk placed around a few beds. Tossing aside things such as a deck of cards, empty food containers and toilet paper, Madarame scratched his head as Kamoshida waited for him, "Damn it. Where the hell did I put it?"

Kamoshida tapped his foot on the floor, his patience running thin, "Can you hurry up already?"

"I'm trying, alright?! I swear I-"

"Looking for something?" the two heard an unfamiliar, smug voice and their attention snapped to a candle sparking to life in a corner of the room.

There, casting a soft glow on the person that had lit it, the two men were taken aback by the sudden appearance of a masked man covered in black. The violet lines travelling around his tuxedo-like armor allowing them to see his form clearly, a pair of violet compound eyes shaped like Quarter notes glared at them as the two pulled out their guns and aimed at the masked man in the corner. There, around his waist, the two recognized the large Treble Clef symbol sitting at the front of his ornate belt.

"Well, well, look what we have here," Kamoshida gave a small laugh, switching off the safety of his gun, "Looks like the man in the mask got a complete makeover! Remember me, bud?" he pointed to the scars on his face, "Last time I saw you, you ruined my pretty face. I've been meaning to get some payback, but it looks like I don't have to wait all that long anymore!"

While his partner was busy mocking him, Madarame couldn't help but stare at the masked man with sweaty hands, "Kamoshida, there's something not right about him..."

The masked man's shoulders shook as he gave an eerie chuckle, one that got the two feeling uneasy as the masked man's hands reached for two buttons on the sides of his belt, "You two are hilarious."

"Says the guy who just walked in on us without a weapon," Kamoshida spat back, "Let's pop his skull!"

Within seconds, several gunshots blared throughout the air, and following it were a thousand ear-piercing violin screeches as the two men screamed in pain. Their guns dropping to the floor, the two mobsters now gripped their bleeding ears while lying on the ground, their eardrums practically destroyed as the masked man they shot at held up a violin-shaped shield. With little to no scratches on its surface, the masked man's shield disappeared into musical notes as quickly as he had summoned it, before walking over the bent bullets at his feet and towards the two men on the floor.

Kicking Kamoshida in the stomach and sending him rolling into the crate behind him, the masked man grabbed Madarame by the neck and slammed him against the wall, holding him up with his feet dangling centimeters from the floor as the masked man's gloved fingers tightened around his neck. All the while, Kamoshida couldn't do anything but squirm in pain from the blow to his cracked ribs as the masked man gave an eerie chuckle.

"Now then, would you care to tell me the location of your boss?" the masked man spoke with a faux-polite tone in his voice, "I'm in a bit of a hurry, you see."

His gloved fingers around his neck loosening to allow the man to speak, Madarame gasped for air before glaring at the masked man with a grin, "Sorry, but you won't get anything out of me! Beat us up and send us to jail like you always do, but we're never gonna spill!"

"Oh, is that so?" the masked man tilting his head to one side, his free hand reached for a button on the ornate belt he wore, "Well then, if you're not keen on giving me anything useful..."

He smacked a button on the right side of his belt, causing the large, compound eyes of his mask to glow with violet energy as the lines travelling around his body did the same. The Treble Clef at the front of his belt glowing with energy, Madarame's grin slowly disappeared as the masked man's free hand curled up into a fist, glowing musical notes swirling around his forearm to form a burning gauntlet of violet flames, **"** **Finale: REQUIEM,"** the belt's deep voice echoed through the room like that of a demon, followed by the whimsical strings of a violin.

"Then let this melody guide you towards the afterlife."

Madarame only had a second to scream before his entire chest cavity was caved in with a sickening crunch that rang in Kamoshida's ears, another subsequent crunch coming as the masked man's burning fist exited out of the mobster's back with ease. As Kamoshida held back the urge to hurl, the masked man retracted his forearm from Madarame's chest, blood now dripping from his limb, and let the man's body drop to the floor like garbage before turning to the other mobster who froze with fear. The masked man now strolling over to him, Kamoshida curled up against the wall, shaking and uttering barely coherent words.

"P-Please! I swear the boss never tells us anything! W-We just do what he tells-" the masked man drove his leg into the mobster's shoulder and pinned him against the wall. Digging his boot heels into the man's shoulder, tears flowed from Kamoshida's eyes as he felt his bones threaten to snap underneath the masked man's strength, "I-I'm telling the truth! Please! W-Why are you even doing this in the first place?! I thought you never did this kind of shit!"

"It seems to me that there's been a misunderstanding," the masked man said with a wag of his finger, blood still dripping from his forearm, "First of all, I am not the local hero. Do you understand me?" he emphasized his words by driving his heel deeper into the man's shoulder, Kamoshida's screams of pain echoing through the building, "And second of all, to make things clear for you..." he smacked the button on the right side of his belt again, his compound eyes shimmering as violet energy traveled through the lines around his body and into the leg that pinned the mobster against the wall. With Kamoshida now whimpering for his life, the masked man gave one last, eerie chuckle, "This... is **my** idea of justice."

* * *

Suppressing a long yawn with one hand before rubbing his eyes, Reynard sighed as he continued sweeping the checkered floors of the Galleria Music Hall. Having just arrived for his morning shift, the numerous tables of the Music Hall were filled with little to no people, the large stage in the middle completely unlit. The only other worker in sight was tending to the bar in the corner, and even then he was just nonchalantly swiping through an app on his phone. Placing the broom in a corner, Reynard heard a ring from the kitchen line and hurried over to pick up a cup of coffee for one of the few customers they had.

After he had passed the drink with a friendly smile to an elderly man in the corner, the Serpentium teen walked over to the bar and leaned on the counter while watching for any customer that needed his attention. The Music Hall was always quiet this early in the morning, even though he could hear the honking of cars stuck in traffic jams outside, and since the school holidays had started, Reynard had no homework or anything to keep himself busy during this boring time.

Reynard then sneezed into his clawed hands, the bartender handing him a tissue as he took it with a grateful nod.

Even though the place's temperature was moderately cold to a human, it was already low enough to give the reptilian teen a decent shiver. Reynard tightened up the collar of his uniform and breathed into his hands before rubbing his scaly tail behind him for warmth, "Goddamit, there's barely anything to do..." sitting down on one of the bar chairs, Reynard tapped his foot as his tail weakly wagged behind him.

The loud shattering of a ceramic cup suddenly breaking the silence, Reynard looked over to one of the few occupied tables where a nervous-looking woman with a missing hand sat, the elderly Serpentium man in front of her shooting her a cold glare as Reynard calmly got up to assess the situation. As he approached the table with care taken to the shards of ceramic on the floor, the few other customers in the Music Hall simply chose to mind their own business.

"Excuse me, but can I help you two?" the blonde teen speaking up to get their attention, the nervous woman only grew more uneasy when she noticed the scaly tail and pointed ears Reynard had.

The Serpentium man with a wrinkly face and white hair on the other hand, simply waved off his concerns. Wearing the tattered coat of the old Serpentium military from the One Year War, the badges and insignia on it worn and damaged. There was even what appeared to be some sort of kill-count marked onto one of the sleeves, "Sorry about the trouble, lad, but this woman here just got on my nerves," the older man explained with a small scowl, "At first she was glaring at me for a few minutes, then I heard her call me something along the lines of 'scaled murderer'. Got a little ticked off from that, you see?" he gestured to his own scaly tail which he had used to smack the woman's drink to the floor, his tail's tip dripping with coffee.

"I-It's not my fault this happened," the woman avoided eye contact with either of them, her shaking hand caressing the stump at the end of her other arm. There were a few visible scars on her face, and Reynard noticed that one of her eyes was even completely blind, "I've seen that badge before. I heard they once gassed an entire city-"

"Now, now, can you two calm down for just one minute?" Reynard cut in before things could get worse and the two held back anymore words. Scratching a scale dyed in gold on his neck, Reynard snapped his fingers as he came to a quick conclusion, "Anyway, Miss, I'll get you another cup of coffee - on the house," he looked at the older Serpentium man with a cheeky smile, handing him a tissue for that coffee-stained tail of his, "I'll do same for you, Mister. Ya see, I don't want any trouble here, so if you two just let things slide, we can _all_ go back to our business all hunky-dory. Alright?"

Taking the tissue from the teen, the Serpentium man gave a measly shrug as he wiped the tip of his tail, "Sure."

As for the one-handed woman, she gave a silent, but understanding nod.

With the situation done, the elderly Serpentium went back over to his table a few meters away while Reynard crouched down and started picking up the bits of ceramic from the coffee-stained floor. As he gingerly picked up the shards, he heard the woman muttered a small, "Thank you" before finishing up the remains of her breakfast. Reynard didn't reply, he only gave her a friendly smile and nod. The Serpentium teen then disposed off the shards in a nearby dust bin before ordering up the free drinks he had promised.

Heading back to the bar counter, Reynard rolled a sore shoulder when he suddenly spotted none other than that new worker, Murasaki Akira, sitting on one of the chairs with an amused grin. Having not noticed him come in just a few minutes ago, Reynard dusted his hands and gave a friendly wave, "Yo! 'Murasaki Akira', right? I thought your shift was in the afternoon?"

"It is. But since I was free, I thought I could relax around here in the meantime. A way of getting used to my new surroundings, you could call it," crossing his legs with his chin resting one one hand, the older musician gazed around at the hundreds of posters and artistry that covered the walls, visibly amazed by the sheer amount of effort that had been put into the Music Hall's decor. At his feet, Reynard noticed the violin casing sitting underneath his chair.

Looking back at the few customers of the Music Hall, most of them had already left in the minutes that had already passed, and with nothing to do, the Serpentium teen sat down next to the violinist, his legs kicking the air while his tail behind him flickered left and right. There was a moment of silence as Reynard couldn't find anything to bring up as a topic to talk about with the new worker, but the silence was broken regardless by Akira himself.

"The way you handled that man and woman just now," Akira spoke up, one finger tapping on the counter, "That was pretty impressive, actually, managing to get them both to settle down while acting calm yourself."

"D-Did I act calm?" Reynard gave a meek chuckle while scratching a scale on his cheeks, "Honestly, I was pretty nervous over there. The man looked _super_ scary after all, and I thought I was gonna mess up talking to that lady," looking at the two people in question over his shoulder, he saw another waiter pass them their promised drinks and smiled, "Still, little things like that helps Serpentium and humans get along, ya know? A good deed a day makes a good... lead... today?" wincing at that painful rhyme, Akira chuckled regardless while Reynard thought it would be a better idea to shut up right now.

Looking over the counter, Reynard reached his hand over it and picked up the TV remote, switching on the television hanging on the wall to listen to the morning news. There, Reynard's attention was immediately taken by the newest reports on crime.

"This just in: A few hours ago, the police have discovered the bodies of numerous men in several areas of the Glistorian outskirts. Suspected of human trafficking, the police have also found several women and children that were likely in the custody of these men. From police reports and witness accounts, all of them said to have been saved by none other than a man in a mask. At first, the police suspected this to be the act of the local hero of Glistoria, 'White Mask', but all descriptions regarding their savior points to a _new_ vigilante in this city. One that, from all the evidence provided, does not hesitate to take the lives of criminals-"

The television was abruptly switched off and Reynard placed down the remote, his tail limp behind him as Akira noticed that the teen's eyes were now as wide as dinner plates.

"Is something wrong?" the violinist spoke up and caused the Serpentium teen to snap out of the small daze he was in.

"Huh? O-Oh, it's nothing," Reynard gave a sharp-toothed grin and attempted to give a forced yawn, "I just... didn't catch any sleep last night, is all. Yeah, that's it."

Tilting his head to one side, the violinist then took out his phone to check the time before picking himself up from his chair, "If nothing's wrong, then I will be on my way then. I'll be exploring a bit of this city before work, so I'll see you later then, Reynard."

"R-Right," Reynard chuckled, "See ya, Mr. Mura-"

"'Akira's' just fine. I'm not _that_ old compared to you. Either way, I'll see you later," giving a small bow of the head, the violinist picked up his violin casing from the floor and left the Music Hall with no more words, leaving the guitarist on the bar chair as Reynard's lips pursed.

Hearing about that new vigilante in town did nothing but knock him out of the rhythm he was in today, and as he let out a frustrated sigh, Reynard went back to doing his job as always.

* * *

An hour after he had returned home from work, Reynard and his brother sat in front of the living room table, the silence between the two filled by the sound of Arvin's hands typing away on his laptop while they slurped on some fried noodles Reynard had bought for dinner. The eldest of the siblings blankly staring at the floor while he ate, Reynard thought of nothing else but the news of that new vigilante that had been killing criminals around town. At first, he tried to brush it off as some nonsense of the day, but over at work, as more customers came in, he heard murmurs among them about this masked man.

A few of them were uneasy about hearing a new masked vigilante arrive in town, one that had no qualms about ending the lives of others. But despite that, he had heard a plentiful number of them going out of their way to support his actions, all the while insisting that his own work as a Kamen Rider was simply not enough.

He just couldn't stand it.

Glancing up from the floor, he could see that his brother's eyes were practically glued to his laptop's screen screen, one hand typing while the other hand grasped his chopsticks. He had been like that ever since he had gotten home, "What are you even looking at over there? Your food is gonna get cold, ya know?"

"I know, I know," Arvin said whilst slurping on his noodles, "It's just that the news about this new masked man in town is being talked by practically everyone in school. In just one night, a crime group the police haven't been able to catch for months had a most of their hideouts completely busted!" Arvin turned his laptop around and showed the screen to his brother. There, multiple news reports had stated that a number of people who had reportedly gone missing over the weeks had been found and rescued by the police, "It's amazing, isn't it? This new masked man is-"

Reynard placed down his food container on the table, his meal only half-finished, and got up to head back to his room while his brother raised a curious brow.

"What's wrong?"

"Lost my appetite."

Opening up the door to his room, Reynard closed it behind him and locked it shut before dropping face-first onto his bed with a muffled groan. His scaly tail completely still, Reynard turned his head and looked to the hundreds of rock posters and decor that covered every single inch of his walls. His electric guitar sat on a stand right next to his bed, a framed picture of his mother and father placed on the bedside drawer as Reynard sat upright and picked up his instrument to ease his mind.

Carefully caressing the neck of his guitar, Reynard closed his eyes, held his pick between his sharp fingers, and gently strummed the strings of his instrument with little care for anything else.

Letting the vibrant, meaty melody of his guitar fill his room, Reynard's fingers plucked and strummed the strings with the discipline and care that his mother had always taught him. It was a firm but gentle rhythm, one that slowly leaked out of his room and into the rest of the household as Reynard's eyes remained shut. His tail wagging behind him, Reynard could still remember the times when his mother would teach him the ways of the guitar and how to spread the joy of music to others. A rhythm that would bind together both humans and Serpentium alike. That, and how as an inheritor of the Symphony Gear, that he had a duty to inspire hope within others as both a vanquisher of evil, and a savior of the helpless.

As his fingers began to strum with guitar with an increased sense of vigor, the melody only grew in power. He remembered it all. The words that gave him the will to don the belt and become the next Kamen Rider Axe. The last words that he would ever hear from his mother before her passing. The words he had practically engraved into his mind.

"Keep on smiling, and continue to bring hope to both Serpentium and humans alike. Even when your strings are broken and your hands are bleeding, keep on playing that melody to bring the people you care about together. A musician doesn't retire; they only stop when they're dead or there's nothing left inside of them."

His fingers finally coming to a complete stop, Reynard looked back at the picture of his parents again and held a tightened fist to his chest. He couldn't let this new masked vigilante do as he pleased in this town. Not after he had spent years as its protector. Even if he sought to bring out justice to criminals, he couldn't just sit on the sidelines and let him go free.

Placing his electric guitar back on its stand, Reynard wiped his sweaty hands with a towel nearby and sighed before reaching over to a small, antique radio on his bedside drawer.

Switching it on, Reynard was about to change into a pair of fresh clothes when suddenly, he heard the reports of a stolen armored truck speeding towards the outskirts of town. His pointed ears twitching at this news, Reynard knew what he had to do.

* * *

The outskirts of Glistoria rang with police sirens in the distance and the roar of a smoking engine as an armored truck sped through the empty, trash-filled streets with little regard for anything in its path. Ramming past numerous police blockades and barriers in an attempt to reach the borders of the city, the police had all but lost track of this retreating vehicle, leaving its drivers to reach towards the outskirts unchallenged. That is, until the armored truck discovered that the police were not the only one in pursuit.

The golden chains on Kamen Rider Axe's trench-coat rattled in the winds as the masked vigilante zipped through the streets of Glistoria like a blur of gold and white. Riding on his armored steed, the Gold Presley, Axe's bike made a sharp turn into the very street where his target vehicle was and sped towards the armored truck, the revving of his machine sounding akin to the strings of an electric guitar being shredded.

As soon as the truck's drivers heard the guitar-like engine roar of this lone pursuer, one of them poked his head out the window and saw the armored motorcycle with gold chains wrapped around its white body. Covered in thick armor with markings shaped as gold musical notes, the man pulled out a rifle and began firing upon Axe, something that did little more than annoy him as the rounds bounced off his armor and vehicle like pebbles.

Accelerating towards them to close the distance, Axe then saw his targets switch out their rifle-fire for none other than a grenade launcher of all things, "Oh boy."

Grenades soared through the air and Axe swerved left and right, explosions blowing apart craters in the road as bits of debris showered his bike. The armored truck slowly widening the distance between it and the Gold Presley, the deafening roar of grenades made Axe's pointed ears ring. But with the 7th grenade that was launched, the shell detonated a meter too close to the Axe's machine, searing the armored vehicle's paint job.

"Alright, now you're just pissing me off!" squeezing a trigger built into the grips of his bike, a pair of short barrels arose from the sides of his vehicle and fired multiple canisters that exploded into several bright lights.

With his attacker blinded, Axe stretched out one hand and in his grip formed the Axe-guitar Gun. Solidifying out of golden musical notes, Axe aimed the neck of his weapon straight at the wheels of his target, one hand still steering his bike. In the distance, he could see that they were already reaching the borders of the city, there were no civilians in sight, and as he heard the ringing of his weapon telling him that he had now locked onto his target, he heard the whimsical strings of a violin suddenly echo through the air.

A violet energy bolt suddenly shot out from the corner of his eye and tore into the wheels of the armored truck, sending it veering out of control as he heard the two drivers scream at the top of their lungs. Within moments, the truck crashed onto one side with a loud metallic screech and skid to a complete stop on the side of road.

Braking a few meters away from the wrecked vehicle, Axe scanned his surroundings, but saw no signs of any other pursuer in the area, "Where the hell did that come from...?" kicking up his bike stand, Axe got off his ride and held onto one of the bike's grips tight before twisting it counter-clockwise thrice. In an instant, the Gold Presley began breaking down into mere bits of gold musical notes, the entire armored vehicle vanishing until it was no more than a pair of bike grips that joined together into a single baton.

Storing the baton on the back of his belt's strap, Axe heard the clattering of metal from the wrecked truck and saw its two inhabitants run out of the vehicle as soon as they had spotted him. They limped into a small alley and Axe pursued his injured targets with haste, his Axe-guitar Gun held in both hands.

Inside the alley, dumpsters filled with trash bags and numerous bits of garbage were everywhere in sight, the chains on Axe's coat jingling with each step he took as the two injured men found themselves cornered in a dead end. The head of his weapon resting on his shoulder, Axe scanned the two frightened men before barking at them, "I'm in a _really_ bad mood right now, so if you two come along nicely, I won't have to break a few bones."

"Don't k-kill us! We'll tell you anything, I swear!" one of the men begged as he gripped his bleeding, twisted arm.

Axe furrowed his brow underneath his armored mask, his tail whipping behind him, "The hell are you guys talking about?"

The other injured man, already to the point of tears, proceeded to get on all fours, pleading, "W-We're telling the truth! Our boss' hideout is in the Mayleaf District! He's been paying off people so nobody would find out! P-Please! Just don't kill us!"

Tightly gripping the neck of his Axe-guitar Gun, Axe finally realized that the two had mistaken him for none other than that new vigilante that had been making runs in town. The sheer thought of it made his tail behind him only lash around in anger as the two cowered against the dead end they were stuck in. Still, while it brought bitter annoyance to the gold Rider, Axe had to wonder why they would confuse the new vigilante for _him_ of all people?

Axe took a step forward, intending to get some answers out of the two, but before he could even take another step, once more he could hear the whimsical strings of a violin fill the air. It was a sound that was both pleasant and unnerving to hear, as the moment the two men heard it as well, they began shrieking in fright.

"What the-?"

In an instant, a pair of violet energy bolts surged through the air and cleaved the two men's heads clean from their shoulders. The two never saw it coming. Their heads dropping onto a puddle of water at their feet, their faces were stuck in perpetual fright as Axe froze right in front of their fallen bodies. Blood from their stumps began to pool beneath their corpses, and as Axe shot his attention towards the rooftops where the attack had originated, in half a second, Axe's boiling rage turned into eye-widening shock at the sight of none other than a Kamen Rider.

Clad in black with violet lines traveling around his tuxedo-like armor, gloved hands of white wielded a shield and cutlass styled after a violin and its accompanying bow. A pair of violet compound eyes staring down on Axe, the gold and white Rider's hands begun to shake while his tail completely froze. There was no mistaking it. The sight of a Symphony Gear made it clear as day.

"Greetings, Kamen Rider Axe," the violet Rider spoke in a voice that was both polite and disguised with a voice changer, "I know that was sudden, but they were-"

"Who the hell are you?!" Axe suddenly bellowed, causing the violet Rider to visibly flinch at his voice. One hand tightening into a fist, Axe pointed the head of his weapon straight at the violet Rider, "You...! You didn't have to kill those two! They already gave up, for God's sake!"

Completely silent at his words, the violet Rider turned his gaze away from Axe as his cutlass and shield vanished into violet musical notes, "I see. No wonder you were acting strangely. You... You're not who I thought you were after all," giving him one last glance, the violet Rider then stepped out of Axe's sight, leaving the gold Rider completely alone as the blood of two men reached his feet.

Dropping onto his knees, Axe threw his weapon against the concrete where it vanished into musical particles, the gold Rider gritting his teeth under his mask. He couldn't believe or even fathom was he had just witnessed. In all his years of protecting this town, this marked the very first encounter he had with another Kamen Rider. It was like a dream, or rather, a nightmare. Not only was there now another vigilante running through this town in the name of justice, but it was a Kamen Rider, just like him. One that did not hesitate to draw the blood of others.

* * *

 **Technology Behind the Rider Belts:**

 **Though the story behind the creation of the Kamen Riders and their musical-themed belts remain a mystery to all but a few, their equipment, known as the Symphony Gears, are high-tech devices of unimaginable technology.** **With built-in Biometric scanners to prevent usage by anyone other than its registered users, the Symphony Gears are bound to their users and enhance their capabilities when not removed.**

 **The earrings that the Riders don dictate the state of their Musical Forms. Without a Musical Note earring, a Rider would simply enter an emergency Blank Form as the earrings store the data of the Rider Form, the Symphony Gear being the device that projects said data into a solid form.** **Aside from suit of armor, the Gears of all Riders are able to summon a baton that can be separated in order to summon a vehicle tuned specifically to the Rider parameters stored within the earrings. Without an earring, the vehicle will instead be a simple motorcycle with balanced stats.**


	4. A Clash of Gold & Violet!

In the smog-filled streets of downtown Glistoria, the nonstop rumbling of construction work, with the heavy groaning of trucks making their way through streets and giant machinery towering over the buildings around them, mixed with the honking of cars stuck in traffic. The moon hiding behind the drifting clouds, a small run-down diner sat in-between two tall buildings halfway to completion. Despite its moldy wooden exterior and the sour smell of piss in the air, the place was brimming with customers.

Everywhere you could look, one would see construction workers chugging down mugs of beer and bickering among one another, all the while the smell of sweat and beer invaded one's nose. Every one of the Serpentium workers nearly twice the size of the average man, their stout, muscular silhouettes were a result of nothing but hard labor. Among these customers, waitresses rushed between the tables with plates of thick meat served alongside boiled crickets, a favorite among Serpentium and more daring humans. A quiet atmosphere hanging in the air between the human and Serpentium workers alike, it was only soothed by a man with a harp playing in the corner.

Sitting at the far end of the restaurant, Akira finished up a modest dinner and pushed aside the plate to rest his elbows on the table. His violin casing sitting next to his feet, Akira rested his chin on his palm and started filtering out the noise of the customers to focus on one thing: Kamen Rider Axe.

Akira never entertained the thought that the reason for Axe's strange behavior was not because of a change of heart, but how the Symphony Gear had a different user entirely. He assumed that Axe simply had a son for this new wielder to bypass the Symphony Gear's Biometric scanners, but that only raised further questions: If Axe had planned for a successor, then how was this new Axe able to don the belt without undergoing the extensive genetic modification required to become a Rider in the first place?

Pinching his sore temples in frustration, Akira took out his cellphone and clicked open a notepad summarizing up all the information he had gathered from multiple interrogations last night. His newest lead was his target's base being around the Mayleaf district, but even that wasn't specific enough to narrow down his target's location exactly. Being new in town and all, it would take at least one more night for him to find where he needed to go.

Perhaps he was too hasty in eliminating those two men earlier, he thought, as Axe definitely didn't appreciate that, and it was also going to make any further attempts to talk to him harder now, too. But at the same time, Akira felt no remorse for what he did. After seeing the amount of men, women and children that had been kidnapped and locked up in cages for God-knows-what, executing those two men while they begged for mercy was almost merciful in comparison.

Putting away the device, Akira reached for his wallet to pay the bill when his ears picked up the other customers gossiping about his recent runs against Glistoria's underground crime. His lips pursed tightly with discomfort upon hearing their words.

"You hear how those crooks were hung from meat hooks when the police found 'em? That Black Mask is freaking intense."

"Serves those scum right. They got off easy, in my opinion."

"Honestly, I wish Black Mask did the same thing for those smaller criminals. Maybe people will be more hesitant to just start stealing stuff?"

"Hell yeah! If the police and White Mask can't do shit about these crooks, then maybe Black Mask will!"

Blocking out all these comments by stuffing a pair of headphones into his ears, Akira placed the cash on the table and the violinist wasted no time picking his instrument up to leave. He strolled past the large Serpentium men in the bar, a few of them glaring as he passed by, before he finally stepped through the large, open doorway. There, the smell of food and beer was replaced by car exhaust from the traffic-filled streets in front of him.

He leaned on a graffiti-laden wall while Mozart's _Requiem in D minor_ played through his headphones, the thunderous symphony of the music giving him enough peace to remember that the previous cities Akira had made his runs through never reacted this way before. That is, if they had even taken notice of his actions at all. But what Akira wasn't surprised nor pleased to see, were the numerous people rooting for the deaths of criminals. Every time he would cast his justice across a city, the resulting cheers for more was always a bitter pill to swallow.

A slow exhale slipped from the violinist's lips and his hand reached for his phone to turn up the volume of his music, when it was cut short from someone calling him: Getrud.

Answering the call, he placed his violin casing next to his feet as human and Serpentium pedestrians ignored his presence while they walked by, "I'm guessing you've heard about what's happened?"

"You think I wouldn't?" Getrud scoffed, audibly puffing a cigarette, "I've been keeping in contact with Albert over there, and I hear you've been doing fine with your new job. Good on you for that. But I bet you didn't expect Glistoria to react to a brand new masked vigilante this intensely, huh?"

Akira gave a hollow chuckle, his hand running through his neat, purple hair, "I can't say I wasn't surprised. Nothing today had failed to do just that."

"Oh? Did you encounter that Axe girl you mentioned?"

Staring at the noisy traffic jam in front of him, Akira answered in a low voice, "Yes... and no. It turns out Axe had a son - or at least, that's what I'm guessing - and she's passed her mantle onto him. I still don't know what's happened to her, but all I guess is that the one that's been acting now is someone that took on her name. His methods are the complete opposite of hers, and I can't tell if this is his or her own influence."

"... And? What're you gonna do about this?"

"In the best case scenario, I'll just leave him be and resume my work," he answered while taking out his Musical Note-shaped earring from his pockets, "But I doubt this successor is just going to leave me be. Our first encounter didn't really give any good first impressions about myself, nor do my methods connect with his own. So anything that happens next is going to be complicated, to say the least."

Hearing another puff of cigarette from the other end of the line, Getrud audibly hummed to herself in thought before saying, "Just don't get into any pointless fights with him, alright? I hear the underground gangs of Glistoria are packing more than Fafnir did over here in Streilson. I don't have anything specific, but be careful about continuing to pick a fight with the gangs over there. Got it?"

A small smile crossed the violinist's face before he pocketed his earring, his voice taking a teasing turn, "Would you tear up if I got hurt?"

"I'd sooner cry over a spilled drink," Getrud replied in a deadpan tone before they both shared a small laugh, "Anyway, good night. Don't die."

"No promises," ending the call with a click of a button, Akira's music resumed from where it had left off and he began heading back to his apartment. His violin casing slung over one shoulder, the violinist couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen here on out. With everything he had found out about Axe tonight, and the questions he had for him, he wondered if his earlier encounter would end up leading to more severe situations.

* * *

With the rays of morning light blocked out by Reynard's curtains, the high-pitched whine of his alarm clock was silenced by the teen's fist shattering the device into several pieces that scattered all over the floor. The blonde poking his head and tail from out the blankets with a mild groan, Reynard nonchalantly glanced at the remains of his alarm clock before curling up underneath his warm blanket, cursing his Serpentium cold-blood for being unable to warm himself up without a heat source.

For several minutes, Reynard chose to simply hide in the warm comforts of his bed, but upon reminding himself that he had work, he dragged himself out and pulled his bedroom curtains aside to bathe his scales in the warm sunlight.

Taking a moment to raise his body temperature, Reynard picked up his phone from the beside drawer and started going through the morning news. There, his groggy awakening only grew more tiring to get pass through as he started reading through dozens of comments regarding the new Kamen Rider in town. With each swipe of his screen, he saw more and more people cheer for the deaths of criminals, some claiming that Glistoria needs someone who can make the streets safe through force, others saying that Reynard's own justice is not enough and that many do not deserve the mercy he gives out.

There was a light smack when Reynard's phone was tossed into the wall beside him before it landed back on a pillow. Sighing and ruffling his messy, blonde hair, the sunlight bathing on his scaly back was the only comfortable thing he felt as his tail lazily swayed around on the bed.

Ever since yesterday's encounter with that violet Rider, Reynard's mind had driven around in screeching circles. At first he thought it was just some nut-job trying to mirror his own vigilante acts with a sick twist on justice, but the fact it was another Kamen Rider doing all this did nothing but curl up his hands until his knuckles turned white. A Rider was supposed to be an icon of hope, or that is, what his mother always drilled into him. But even so, he had no right to play judge, jury and executioner in a town **he** had been helping for years already.

Even if the people clamored to him, the sight of those two men begging for their lives before being murdered replayed in his mind like a tape set on rewind.

Glancing at a framed picture of his parents as if asking for advice, Reynard sighed and lied down on his bed to let the sunlight warm the front of his scaly, toned body.

If he allowed this Rider's acts to continue, there was no telling how far he would go in enacting his justice. This brand of vigilantism was a slippery slope, and even if criminals and civilians alike continued to call him naive or even foolish for trying to save people, he had to confront him. He didn't care if this Rider could be some veteran of the One Year War or an inheritor of the Symphony Gear like him. It made no difference.

A few knocks on the door snapped him out of his thoughts and Reynard heard Arvin's voice from the other side, accompanied by the faint beeping of a small game console, "You awake in there? I got something for you."

"I'll be right there!" jumping off his bed, Reynard opened up his closet with his tail and started putting on some clothes, making sure he didn't step on the remains of his alarm clock before he opened up his door to see his brother. Pajamas all wrinkled, game console in one hand with the other behind his back, Arvin's hair was a complete mess like Reynard's, "Huh. Didn't know you wake up this early on school holidays."

Ignoring his sarcasm, Arvin pulled out his hidden hand from behind his back and revealed a small, colourful container in his palm, "I wanted to give this to you before you went out for work. You looked pretty down yesterday, so I thought this would cheer you up," he said with a hint of a smile.

Taking the small gift, Reynard saw the expectant gaze on his brother's face and started unwrapping the gift with the tip of his sharp fingers. After some struggling, he pulled the metal container open to see a small pile of simmering, boiled grasshoppers inside, all marinated with a powerful smell of soy sauce.

Reynard blinked before his eyes lit up with joy, "Oh, you couldn't have!"

"It was easy," Arvin casually remarked with his attention returning to his 4DS in hand, "A quick trip downtown was all it took."

Flicking a grasshopper into his mouth, Reynard's pointed ears and tail flickered with excitement as he savored the juicy taste of his favorite snack. But before he could make a comment on it, he heard his phone's alarm start to ring, telling him that he was going to be late if he didn't rush to work now, "Crap. Anyway, thanks for the snack!" he ruffled his little brother's hair while Arvin lightly laughed at how easy it was to cheer him up.

"Don't mention it, Big Bro'. It's just weird when you're not smiling, that's all."

While Arvin walked back to his room, Reynard closed the door and started getting ready for work. With haste, he combed his messy hair, cleaned up the scales around his body, face and tail, checked for any shedding and put on his usual work attire. Fetching his bike keys from a drawer, he opened up the door with his motorcycle helmet under his arm and looked back at the framed picture of his parents.

"Well, I'm heading off. See ya," he whispered before rushing out of the house. Even though it felt like it was going to be a regular day like any other, he knew that with a new Rider in town, it was going to be anything but.

* * *

As a quiet morning shift slowly turned into a busy afternoon in the Galleria Music Hall, the immense, near-deafening beats of pop music reverberated off the Hall's walls to the cheering of the large crowd that had gathered today. All of them chanting in unison to the enchanting, almost overwhelming voice of an artist by the name of "Nana Mizuki", every single table was taken with flashing lights illuminating the dark lounge. Among the cheering crowd, both Reynard and Akira were serving out drinks and meals as best they could.

Frantically making their way through the patrons without spilling the orders in hand, the blaring pop music made it impossible for the two waiters to even hear the bartender in the corner that was yelling at them to take a break, until they actually turned around to see him. Noticing a few other waiters coming out to cover them, Reynard and Akira signaled the bartender an exhausted A-Okay signal before making their way to the break room in the far back.

After a minute of constant apologizing and exhausting pushing, the two workers finally stood in front of the break room's door, both of their uniforms drenched in sweat with their hands gripping their knees.

Glancing at each other, Akira politely gestured the younger worker to step inside first and Reynard gave a thankful, sharp-toothed grin.

The sight of an empty break room with several energy drinks sitting on the main table was a much-welcome sight. But much to their surprise, they were taken aback by the sight of something that could only be described as an old game cabinet that was now sitting in one corner of the room. As they closed the door behind them, the singing from outside was reduced to a low muffle, the two workers picking up their energy drinks as they curiously approached the arcade machine.

"What's this supposed to be?" Akira mused while he sat down on a chair and popped open his energy drink.

"Wait, you've never seen an arcade machine before?" Reynard raised a brow at the violinist who gave an almost rueful nod, "I mean, it's old and all, but how have you **not** heard of these things?" stepping up to the gaming cabinet, he ran his gaze on every side of the machine until he noticed a small note from Uncle Albert taped to the side of it.

'Bought this for you guys to have fun while on break. Don't break it,' it read, its sheer bluntness getting a bit of a laugh from the Serpentium.

"Admittedly, I'm not very familiar with this kind of stuff. Games and a lot of things that aren't related to music are pretty much out of my field," Akira said with a pitiful smile before he sipped his drink.

"Oh, well then," Reynard sat in front of the machine and popped open his energy drink. Wondering if he could take this as an opportunity to get to know the new worker better, he eagerly flashed a few quarters from his pocket, "Wanna play for a bit?" Akira tilted his head to one side at the sight of his coins, "It works like this: you put in a few quarters and you play until you lose. It's short, fun, and a good way to kill time. Sounds simple enough, right?" he added a sharp-toothed smile for good measure.

His curiosity peaked, Akira got up to the machine and sat down beside Reynard with a polite bow of the head, "I'm in your care then."

Taken aback by his overly-polite Japanese mannerisms, Reynard gave a nervous chuckle and popped the quarters into the arcade machine. The large screen immediately lit up to a cartoon display of a DJ player running his fingers through a musical keyboard, a colourful girl with pink hair singing behind him as the words _"DoReMiFa BEAT"_ flashed across the screen. Reynard recognized the game since he played it a couple of times with Arvin, but Akira looked as though it was something completely foreign to him.

Selecting an average-difficulty song by the name of _Excite_ , Reynard cracked his knuckles as the electronic pop song slowly began. Soon, button prompts began to fly across the interface and Reynard tapped the buttons to the beat of the song, cheerfully humming along to the catchy tune while his tail eagerly wagged. Beside him, Akira simply mimicked Reynard's actions, as if he didn't understand the concept of a Rhythm game, but despite this, the violinist's fingers were quick, managing to consistently hit the buttons albeit with various "Misses" in-between.

When the song came to an end, the results were laid out and while Reynard scored high, Akira's were completely average. Reynard assumed he never had much of a childhood outside of music.

"This was fun," Akira uttered with a modest chuckle.

"... You've seriously never played an arcade game before?" Reynard got a regretful shake of the head, "Well, wanna go another round?" getting a nod this time, he selected the next song, _Just Live More_ , and as the two continued tapping away at the buttons, Reynard attempted to make some small talk, "So... that 'Black Mask' guy," he cleared his throat for emphasis, "He's pretty much been the talk of the town, huh?"

To Reynard's surprise, Akira gave an exasperated sigh, "He definitely has been. It's almost impossible to go anywhere without hearing anything about masked vigilantes."

"Oh, tell me about it," Reynard groaned before wincing at the sight of his Perfect Combo breaking from a single 'Miss', "But anyway, what're your thoughts on the guy? I mean, White Mask had been pretty much protecting this town for years already, and now people are all cheering for this new guy that goes around decapitating criminals as if it was going out of style. It kinda makes it sound like the police and White Mask haven't done anything to help, huh?"

With the next song coming to an end, Akira wrung his sore hands and brought a finger to his chin, "And what's **your** opinion on these masked vigilantes?" he countered with his own question as Reynard suddenly felt like he was being scanned from head to toe.

"W-Well," Reynard coughed into a fist and avoided the older musician's gaze, "I think White Mask did a pretty good job in trying to protect this town, and although I think Black Mask killing all those criminals is borderline unforgivable... I was just wondering what kind of justice do the folks of this town really want?"

Akira wordlessly stared at him for a couple of a seconds with eyes that made the Serpentium begin to sweat, before he diverted them back to the arcade machine in front of them. Akira's score was once again in the average range, albeit lower than the previous one, "It's interesting, for sure. Though they may have a point that some criminals just do not deserve even the the slightest bit of mercy, I also don't think they should be so quick to abandon White Mask's own attempts to help either. It's a complicated dilemma, really. The thought of sentencing a criminal to death isn't something that can be quickly labelled a 'good' or 'bad', and the same can be said for the opposite."

Blinking a couple of times, Reynard opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out except for another nervous chuckle, "Wow. That... kinda got a bit deep there, didn't it?"

"Oh, my bad," Akira laughed, giving an apologetic bow of the head, "If anything, I think both masked vigilantes have a point in their methods, no matter how you look at it. But that's a topic for another time," he tapped a finger on the wristwatch he was wearing, "Break time's over, so we should get going."

"Gotcha," Reynard gave another toothy grin, "I'll admit: It's actually pretty nice to talk to you. For a second there, I thought you were going to be super hard to approach and everything I said was gonna end up making you think I was a weirdo, or something. Actually, forget about that last part. Or maybe all of it."

Laughing again at the younger musician's ramblings, Akira got up from his seat and gave a polite bow, "The feeling is mutual," grabbing his energy drink and finishing what remained, the young man then headed back out into the noisy music hall ahead of Reynard, ready to brave the immense crowd again.

All the while, Reynard took out his container to flick a grasshopper into his mouth and washed it all down with his drink, his pointed ears twitching at its tangy flavor.

Since his shift was going to be over in an hour or two, Reynard went up to his locker and started packing up his stuff, the Serpentium teen wondering if he should head back home and clean up the house afterwards, or continue on his daily patrol as the town's vigilante as always. The latter would probably end up with him running into that violet Rider at some point, something that felt all too difficult to pass up on.

* * *

With the orange light of the late-afternoon washing over Glistoria, the sound of fire trucks and police cars could be heard rushing towards a block not too far away from the Galleria Music Hall. There, rescue vehicles gathered around a small apartment block engulfed in flames and attempted to douse the fire, Serpentium and human firemen alike rushing into the building to rescue those inside. But despite their efforts, the flames continued to surge, the screams of people still inside continuing to echo through the smoky air. As the situation grew worse, the rescue workers below suddenly heard the hot-blooded strumming of an electric guitar.

Within moments, a figure clad in gold and white soared above their heads, jumping from an opposing building to the one on fire in a single bound and crashing through one of the windows on the middle floor.

Raking the floor with his claws and screeching to a complete halt, the respirator within Axe's mask filtered out the smoke as his mask's compound eyes scanned his fiery surroundings for any signs of life. Standing amidst what could only be described as a hallway now turned into a burning domain of hell itself, Axe's sensors detected multiple life-signs on the floor below him and he smacked his belt's twin buttons to summon his Axe-guitar Gun into hand.

In one mighty swing, Axe's weapon carved an enormous hole into the wooden floor, the Rider jumping through it and landing in a hallway with both ends blocked out by debris. Several civilians sitting along the walls with rags covering their mouths and noses, the very moment they saw the chain-covered Rider standing among the flames, their panic quickly turned into cries of relief.

"I'm getting you guys out of here, so stay calm and follow me!" turning to the wall on his left, Axe's sensors could detect the apartment's back entrance lying in this direction with 4-6 thick walls standing in-between. It was going to be a risky maneuver, but as the flames continued to spread across the corridor, he raised his weapon once more in both hands and smacked the button on the right side of his belt with his tail, causing his compound eyes to shimmer with the golden lines around his body.

 **"Finale: REQUIEM,"** his belt roared as golden musical notes swirled around the head of his battle-axe, encasing it with a glow that matched the burning fires around them.

With a loud battle-cry, Axe swung his weapon at the wall and tore it down like a hot knife through wet paper. Charging forth through the rubble, the flames did little to sear his trench-coat as he continued cutting down every single wall that stood between him and the apartment's back entrance with repeated swings of his weapon. The men and women following him through burning rooms and halls alike, the last wall that stood in their path was quickly bulldozed down to the meaty beats of an electric guitar, Axe flicking his wrist and tail as the back entrance was finally in sight.

Firemen rushed in to help escort the escaping survivors, but Axe's sensors alerted him to another life-sign located on the upper floors. His weapon vanishing into musical notes, Axe's pick knuckles formed over his fists and he smacked the left button on his belt. The speaker-shaped rockets around his legs emitted a low hum and the Rider was immediately propelled through the floors above him, Axe breaking through several floors like a missile before landing on the top floor where he spotted a child lying underneath some rubble.

Tossing the heavy rubble off the boy with ease, Axe carried him in his arms and turned to the hole he had made earlier when he suddenly heard the ceiling above him begin to crumble. His eyes widening at the growing cracks above him, his sensors saw through the smoke and detected a window on the far end of the hall, "Alright, kid, this is gonna be a tough one!" sprinting towards the window as fast as his heavy armor would allow him, cracks continued to spread across the ceiling and floors, everything around him now on the verge of collapsing entirely as the floor below crumbled beneath his feet.

As Axe jumped into the air and hurled his fist through the glass window, the entire apartment finally began to break apart, the small building crumbling and breaking apart into a large pile of debris as the resulting cloud of ash spread across the entire block.

The concrete street cracked underneath Axe's legs with a thundering rumble, the child still breathing in his arms as glass, ash and rubble covered the Rider's chain-covered trench-coat. Panting underneath his mask, Axe saw the apartment block behind him now more than a large gathering of burnt rubble, smoke billowing into the afternoon sky as the Rider handed the child to a paramedic rushing over to him.

Looking at all the rescued civilians that were now getting medical treatment and entering various ambulances, Axe smiled underneath his mask and reached for the motorbike baton on the back of his belt strap, "Hold it right there!" he heard a voice call to him and turned around to see several approaching police officers. The one at front had a stern look on his face as he flashed his badge, "White Mask, apologies, but you'll have to come with us. We have a few questions to ask about the so-called 'Black Mask'."

Axe glanced at the other officers and a few of them were already sweating, reaching for their holstered guns while the others clearly did not want to pick a fight with a town vigilante, "And what if I **don't** want to come along nicely?" Axe's tail wrapped around the baton on the back of his belt strap and the officers immediately drew their pistols on him. Axe just sighed, "You guys do know I'm bulletproof, right?"

"We know you've been playing 'hero' for a while now, long before the public even acknowledged your vigilantism, but Black Mask's actions - whether or not you're affiliated with him - warrants questioning from whoever that may actually know something about him," there was a click when the officer switched off the safety of his weapon, "Come along quietly and things won't have to get ugly."

Axe gazed at all the paramedics, firemen and civilians around them and they quickly noticed the officers' actions. But even so, not a single one chose to do any more than give questioning looks at the men's actions in front of them. A few others simply took out their phones and started taking pictures, while others were pointing at what was practically the first time the police ever confronted Axe in person. Seeing as it was all on him to escape, Axe sighed underneath his mask and raised up his hands in the air.

Right before the chains around his trench-coat ejected from his body and suddenly lashed out at the police's guns like frenzied snakes. Shots immediately went off and the civilians around them panicked as Axe turned on his heel and leaped into the air, baton in hand. He snapped apart the baton into a pair of motorcycle grips, golden musical notes gathering underneath his body and solidifying into the Gold Presley mere seconds before the tires even kissed the concrete.

Immediately speeding through the unmoving traffic jam on the streets, Axe's armored bike darted past cars and trucks alike for anywhere that wasn't here, hoping that the police were too busy with his gold chains to actually start pursuing him, "Damn it. Now I got the police breathing down my neck," Axe groaned as the golden chains around his trench-coat slowly manifested around his body again, his bike speeding towards the edge of town for a breather.

While he drove through the streets, he could see the townsfolk all shouting in surprise at being able to get a glance at the local vigilante. Or at least, **one** of the local vigilantes. Axe never really gave a thought to how people reacted to his work. Just helping people itself gave him a sense of satisfaction that few other things could. But for once, he could almost feel a sense of envy deep inside of him at how the town reacted to this new, merciless Kamen Rider. He had been keeping an eye out for him in case he would run into him again, but there had been nothing so far. Now that the police was on his literal tail because of his blood-filled crusade, he wondered if he should've seek him out even sooner.

Soon, Axe's armored bike came to a halt on the empty roads of the Glistorian outskirts and there, Axe kicked up the bike-stand for a moment to think.

Looking around, there was nothing interesting in sight, just abandoned buildings and run-down shops as always, but when he took a second to stretch his arms, his gaze ran over to the street's name and his eyes went wide under his mask: "Mayleaf District".

He remembered the two men from yesterday who mistook him for that violet Rider, one of them shouting this very district's name. If that Rider had been chasing them for the location of a criminal base, then this district was **exactly** where that Rider would be hanging around to find them.

Releasing the bike-stand, Axe revved the engine and quickly began driving around the empty streets for any sign of a criminal base and/or the violet Rider himself, the scanners in his compound eyes darting left and right at maximum settings for any vague signs. It was at this point that Axe's body started to move all on its own. Driven solely by his purpose to continue his role as a hero of justice, the guitar-like hum of the Gold Presley's engine would echo through the Mayleaf District for hours on end, the gold Rider completely focused on finding his targets as the light of the sun slowly turned into the soft glow of moonlight.

The holographic UI within Axe's mask signalling to him that it was now a quarter past 7, Axe's trench-coat fluttered from a passing gust of wind. He stood on the rooftop of a building overlooking several smaller ones on the opposite side of the road, the moon behind his back. It was odd, as even though Axe's sensors couldn't pick up any signs of life in any of these buildings, he could see faint signs of light and even movement through the windows. This was the first time he's seen something that could evade his sensors as the Rider continued scanning the sides of the building with his binocular vision.

After what felt like half an hour of waiting, Axe's suspicions were finally confirmed when a man armed with a rifle and kevlar came out from one of the buildings to light a cigarette. The man wearing a set of casual clothes despite his equipment, Axe quickly summoned his Axe-guitar Gun into his hands, ready to strike the base while he had the element of surprise. He felt a tinge of pride at managing to find the base before that other Rider could, even if he wanted to confront him, but arresting criminals took priority first and foremost.

Taking in a deep breath, Axe uttered the usual words of encouragement to get himself psyched up and block out that sense of dread he felt whenever he got into a fight, "Let's rock n'roll," Axe flicked his wrist and tail in unison, taking a step towards the edge of the rooftop.

He heard a blood-curling shriek echo from inside one of the buildings, and before he could react, the buildings on the opposing block suddenly erupted in bright, fiery explosions as Axe shielded his eyes in reflex. Almost in pure rhythmic fashion, the buildings exploded one-by-one, immediately killing anything that was even nearby as Axe watched in silent horror at the sight of several buildings now engulfed in raging flames. That shock though, quickly turned into anger, as jumping from out of the flames and landing on the streets below with an accompanying violin-like tire screech, was a sleek motorcycle ridden by none other than the violet Rider himself.

Axe tightened one hand into a fist as the violet vehicle quickly rode off into the distance, and as the gold Rider gritted his sharp teeth, the Rider jumped from the rooftops and descended the building with his motorcycle baton snapping in half. The Gold Presley manifested under his body and its tires hit the ground running with a loud screech, the landing nearly having thrown off its Rider had he not hold on tight.

Quickly pursuing the violet Rider's path in the Gold Presley, Axe glanced at the burning buildings behind him in his rear-view mirror and knew that whatever intentions this Rider had, Axe couldn't sit by any longer and let him do as he pleased. His justice ended today, either through diplomacy, or by force.

* * *

As the soft glow of the moon reflected off the glossy, amethyst surface of the Violet Bach, the sleek, lightly-armored motorcycle sped through the deserted streets with the glow of flames in the growing distance. The roar of its engine sounding almost entirely like the whimsical strings of a violin being played, Viola's fingers tapped on a map display sitting where a bike's fuel tank would typically be, the holographic screen showing a path towards another area of the outskirts entirely. But before Viola could speed towards his next destination, he heard the guitar-like bellow of a bike engine.

Clicking his tongue under his mask, he glanced behind and spotted a dim light closing in from the distance, the compound eyes of Viola's mask zooming in to spot none other than Axe pursuing him on his own Rider Machine.

There was no time to waste, he thought, as even if he wanted a chance to talk to Axe, he had an objective to get to. Clutching the grips of his bike, Viola leaned his body forward and held back a grunt as his bike zipped through the streets at top speeds. The muscles in his legs gripping onto the Violet Bach tight, the immense amount of wind pressure blew against Viola's armored mask as his Rider Machine made a sudden, screeching turn into a street filled with abandoned buildings in an attempt to break with his pursuer.

His heart beating rapidly despite his steady breath, Viola drove through the run-down doors and crumbled walls of dark buildings as he could hear Axe's Rider Machine somewhere around him. He didn't know the city like Axe did, but relying solely on his instincts alone, he jumped through multiple broken windows and took tight turns into tight roads, attempting to head in any direction that made the sound of Axe's Rider Machine grow more distant.

Shattering a glass plane in front of him, shards scattered across the streets and Viola gasped as he found himself suddenly faced with a dead-end.

He squeezed the brakes of his bike, the back tire screeching with smoke and drift marks carving into the concrete. Holding his breath, the Violet Bach skid across the alleyway and came to a sudden stop mere centimeters from the wall in front of him, the Rider grunting under his mask, and with that, Viola let out a sigh of relief.

Hearing the rumble of a motorbike engine, Viola glanced at the entrance of the alley-way he had driven himself into and spotted Axe staring at him while still on his bike. The gold Rider kicking up his bike-stand, Axe got off his Rider Machine and deactivated the vehicle, bringing it back to its simple baton state as Viola mirrored the action. Both of them attaching the batons onto the back of their belt straps, the jingling of the gold chains around Axe's body echoed through the alley, the Serpentium Rider approaching Viola until they stood mere 20 meters from each other.

Axe's tail swayed left and right, Viola's gloved hands brushing the chin of his mask as the dead-end they were in was around the size of a large room. There was only one way in and out of here, the buildings surrounding him far too high for even Viola to jump onto as moonlight reflected off several puddles of water on the concrete ground. In the distance, one could hear the rumbling of thunder.

"I can tell you know this city well," Viola chuckled with his voice modulator switched on, "I didn't expect that you would lure me into a dead-end like this. Especially on a slower Rider Machine."

His hand curling into a tight, shaking fist, Axe's tail started whipping about, "Why?" he uttered in a low tone, his voice modulator activated as well, before he stomped one foot onto the ground and cracked the concrete like it was glass, "Why did you kill all those people in those buildings? All those criminals from yesterday? Just what are you even trying to do?!" he demanded as he pointed a damning finger straight at Viola.

Dusting a piece of dirt off his tuxedo-like armor, Viola looked straight at Axe, his tone losing its smug vibe, "You don't know what they were doing, do you? What has been going on right under your nose all these years?" his question visibly caused the gold Rider to flinch, "Every single person I've hunted down so far have been involved in trafficking both human **and** Serpentium alike - Men; women; children - all to anyone with the cash for it. Those buildings were supposed to be their main base, but it turns out they had moved before I arrived. So to be frank, I'd rather head to their new base now before they can relocate again."

"... Is that so?" Axe hissed under his mask, the chains around his trench-coat shimmering as his entire body began to fume with anger, "Still... all those people. All the men you've killed..." the compound eyes of his mask flashed with gold as Viola took a step backwards, "How many are you planning to kill before you stop, huh?! How much blood are you going to spill until you're satisfied?!"

Thinking about his question, Viola lifted one hand from his side and silently stared into his gloved palm. He gave a hollow chuckle and looked back at Axe with a tone of complete calm, "Their deaths were necessary."

"Try telling that to the piles of bodies you've left behind," Axe scoffed with a shake of his head, "For god's sake, they could've been spared!"

"And what would that lead to?!" Viola shot back with his hand cutting through the air, Axe hissing back at him. He then gasped at his own outburst, before taking in a deep breath to recollect himself, "Axe, I understand why you would want to spare these men and have them face justice in court, but reality isn't so simple. While some may repent, others - as soon as they are released from prison - are just going to continue doing the very same acts with little-to-no regret. No matter how many times you beat them down, they'll never learn."

Axe's tail stopped moving, the gold Rider's hands ceasing their shaking as well, "And so you just put them in the ground for good, huh? Not even gonna give a single one of them a chance to start over?"

"I do what must be done," Viola answered once more with utter calm, "No matter my own feelings on the matter, until Glistoria has been cleansed of the underground crime that's thrived for years, I will **not** stop. Even if you stand in my way."

As the exchange of words came to a complete halt, one could hear a drop of water fall onto a puddle nearby, the rumbling of thunder growing in the distance as streaks of lightning flashed across the dark skies. Soon, rain began to drizzle on the violet and gold Riders in the alley, the coat-tails on Axe's trench-coat and the split-ends on Viola's tuxedo-like armor fluttering from a passing breeze. Without any words, Axe smacked the buttons on the sides of his belt and Viola hesitated before doing the same. Their weapons manifesting into their arms, rain began to pour on them as both Kamen Riders raised their weapons.

They both knew words were useless at this point. There was no way out of this alley without one of them getting beaten into the ground. Both Riders wielding their ideals and weapons with no intention of letting go, flashes of lightning illuminated the two masked warriors as they slowly approached one another.

The rough soles of their boots made it impossible to slip on the wet concrete. Their sensors saw through the rain as if it was clear as day. Their weapons were wielded without hesitation.

"Shall the concert..."

"Let's rock..."

Thunder crackled through the rainy skies as two warriors charged at each other and sparks flew when a guitar-shaped battleaxe swung into a violin-shaped shield with an accompanying _'crunch'_.

"... Begin?"

"... n'Roll!"

Digging his heels into the wet concrete from Axe's immense strength, Viola leaped back and ejected his shield from his forearm as it was cut clean in two. Skidding to a halt, Viola manifested another shield as Axe charged through the falling rain with his battleaxe raised overhead, "Not bad," Viola sharply stepped aside and a golden axe swung past his face to smash into pavement, "But power means nothing if you can't even hit your target."

Stepping backwards as Axe's weapon swung at him again, the violet Rider calmly dashed left and right, evading Axe's clumsy swings with ease as his weapon tore into the concrete and left small craters in the wet floors with each strike. Countering his offenses, Viola ducked underneath a horizontal swing that cut a pole behind him in half and slashed Axe across the chest, accompanying sparks showering his mask while the gold Rider reeled back with a hand gripping his chest.

But due to Axe's powerful defense, only a mere scratch was visible on his armor as Axe spun his weapon around and aimed the barrel of his Axe-guitar Gun straight at Viola, a pick manifesting between his fingers.

Smacking the left button on his belt, Viola raised his shield just Axe as struck the strings of his guitar, a barrage of gold musical notes spiraling through the air from the barrel of his Axe-guitar Gun and showering upon the violet musical notes that spiraled over Viola's shield. Axe's fingers striking his strings with immense strength, the light of his weapon's muzzle flash lit the alley-way while Viola, even with his heels digging into the pavement, was slowly pushed backwards from the machine gun-like barrage.

Viola then twirled his Bow Cutlass in his other hand and leaped to the side, the violet Rider running horizontally along the walls as Axe's machine-gun fire tore the walls into bits of rubble.

Kicking himself off the wall and into the air, Viola's threw his weapon at Axe, the Bow Cutlass spinning through the air and grazing past Axe's face, right before the Bow Cutlass ricocheted off the wall behind him and sliced off the barrel of his Axe-guitar Gun clean.

Tossing away his weapon, Axe manifested his Pick Knuckles and Viola dove underneath a burning fist of flames, smacking the edge of his Violin Shield straight into the Axe's face with a loud ' _clang'_ that combined with the rumbling thunder. But as adrenaline began to pump in, Axe's tail seized Viola by the neck and the gold Rider, with his hands grasping Viola's head, drove his knee straight into the opposing Rider's abdomen, knocking the wind out of him in an instant as Viola flew backwards.

Smacking into a burning, wet wall behind him, Viola heaved underneath his mask and crouched before Axe's fists burned into the concrete behind him. Grimacing under his mask, Viola curled up his hands into fists and started swerving left and right past Axe's burning punches, appearing almost as a blur to the gold Rider until Viola's own fists suddenly pummeled Axe's face in a rapid rush of attacks, causing the Serpentium to reel back and grasp his aching head in pain.

The rain continuing to pour down on the two as they fought, Axe felt like his head was going to split in two while Viola felt one of his organs bleeding from within. Smoke from the debris billowed into the dark skies and several craters were torn into the concrete beneath their feet. Panting underneath their cracked masks and armor, Axe and Viola rose up to their feet and stood up straight, their bodies shaking and their hands moving to their belt straps. Mirroring each other, they smacked the button on the right sides of their belts, their gold and violet compound eyes flashing with the lines traveling around their body.

 **"Finale: REQUIEM,"** their belts echoed in unison, musical notes swirling around both Riders and encasing them in a fiery glow of flames, all to the clashing rhythm of an electric guitar and a violin.

Taking in a deep breath, Axe charged through the falling rain, the burning glow of gold around his legs burning brighter and brighter, each heavy step on the wet, bruised concrete sounding like the chaotic strings of an electric guitar. Viola instead curled one hand into a fist, all of the violet energy instead gathering around his right hand until a cyclone of glowing musical notes violently spiraled around his fists, the falling rain around his arm evaporating into steam within in a specific radius as the whimsical strings of a violin rang.

"Time for your swansong!"

"Time for your curtain-call!"

Axe jumped into the air, the coat-tails and chains of his trench-coat fluttering, and as his burning legs dove towards Viola like a speeding missile, Viola threw his fiery fist straight into his attack head-on.

A deafening rumble akin to a powerful bomb going off echoed through the Glistorian outskirts when their attacks collided, sparks showering the floor around them and burning holes into the concrete with streaks of electricity surging through both Riders. Axe bellowed a battle-cry and Viola remained silent, as right after an ear-piercing whine that deafened both fighters, an explosion erupted from their clashing attacks and engulfed the entire alleyway in immense flames of violet and gold, smoke now billowing into the rainy skies.

After a few minutes of nothing but the sound of rain falling upon smoking concrete, the cloud of smoke that covered the entire area finally settled, revealing both Viola and Axe standing on opposing ends of the alley-way, coughing and heaving underneath their crackling masks. Even Axe, with his powerful defenses, was covered in cracks like Viola, sparks hissing from the damage on their bruised armor as their visors were shattered apart.

But overall, Viola was on a much worse end, as due to his light armor having taken the full brunt of two clashing 'Finales', the violet Rider fell onto one knee and grasped his right arm in pain. The Treble Clef symbol at the front of his ornate belt now emitting a high-pitched alarm, the armor around Viola begun to break apart into shattered musical notes, cracking apart ever so slowly until Akira's bruised face, with blood trailing down the corner of his mouth and his hair a complete mess, was in clear view of Axe.

The gold Rider drew in a sharp, shaky breath, "Wha-?" he took a faltering step towards Akira, before falling onto one knee as well and grasping his aching head. His breath heavy, his tail completely unmoving, Axe stared straight into the tired, defeated eyes of his unmasked opponent and with his voice modulator switched off, uttered, "A.. kira...?"

The violinist's eyes widened at that name. Despite the rumbling of the thunder and the rain falling down all around them, Akira faintly recognized that voice. A voice that made him wonder if this was all some horrible joke that God was playing on him. Grimacing, Akira clutched his abdomen and coughed out some blood onto the wet concrete, giving a hollow chuckle at the situation they were now in.

But before Axe could say any further, the Treble Clef symbol at the front of his chain-covered belt strap emitted a similar high-pitched alarm and the armor around Axe immediately begun to break apart. This time, right as his armored, chain-covered trench-coat shattered apart into broken musical notes and revealed the Serpentium teenager underneath, Reynard fell onto both knees and dropped face-first onto the wet pavement, his consciousness already out.

As small pools of blood and rainwater begun to gather around the two Riders, Akira could hear the sounds of police sirens in the distance, attracted by the explosion from the trafficking ring nearby and the one that had just occurred. Not wanting to know what entailed for them if they were brought in like this, Akira looked at the unconscious Serpentium in front of him and knew that with his cold-blood, Reynard was was going to be in a much worse state than he was from hypothermia if he didn't do anything.

With his left hand still clutching his abdomen, the violinist dragged himself over to Reynard and ripped off the motorcycle baton from Reynard's belt. Pulling out his own baton, he snapped the two in half at the same time and tossed them at the entrance of the alley, musical notes gathering around the two batons to form a violet motorcycle with a golden side-car attached. The tires hit the concrete with a small screech and Akira dragged the unconscious Serpentium by the arms, pulling him into the side-car's seat before starting the bike's engine.

The police sirens getting closer and closer with each second, Akira revved the engine and sped off into distance with the unconscious Serpentium, streaks of lightning flashing across the skies.


End file.
